EU nations OK Ireland bailout

DUBLIN, Ireland, Nov. 29 (UPI) -- European Union finance ministers Sunday approved an agreement to loan Ireland $113 billion to help it get out of its financial jam.

Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen said the agreement concluded in Brussels is the "best deal for Ireland." He said it will require Ireland to pay the money back at an average interest rate of 5.8 percent, which would be cheaper than borrowing on the open markets, the BBC reported.

Cowen said the deal gives Ireland "vital time and space to successfully and conclusively address the problems we've been dealing with since the financial crisis began."

About $46 billion will be used to stabilize Ireland's banks and the rest will go toward keeping the government's day-to-day operations going, the British network said.

European Voice reported that under the loan agreement Ireland must adopt further austerity measures. They include using about $23 billion from its own pension reserves.

"Ministers concur with the [European] Commission and the European Central Bank that providing a loan to Ireland is warranted to safeguard financial stability in the euro area and in the European Union as a whole," said Jean-Claude Juncker, the prime minister of Luxembourg who heads the meetings of the eurozone finance ministers.