A pedestrian passes a newsstand on O'Connell Street in central Dublin. Ireland came under intense pressure to request aid over its debt crunch in what the European Council’s president called a “survival crisis” for the euro zone and the wider European Union. –Reuters Photo/Cathal McNaughton
The arrival of experts from the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the IMF represents a further blow to Irish hopes it can ride out its debt crisis alone, although Dublin has yet to accept money.
It underlines fears among euro partners for the broader stability of the soon-to-be 17-nation currency area, after a bottomless banking bailout pushed Ireland’s public deficit beyond 30 per cent of output this year.
