Irish, EU, IMF face marathon talks for loan deal

[November 19, 2010]  DUBLIN (AP) -- Irish, European and International Monetary Fund officials mounted tough negotiations Friday over terms of a massive credit line for Ireland's debt-crippled banks -- with the fate of Ireland's prized low business taxes in the firing line.

Irish officials said talks were under way at several locations in Dublin involving different government departments and agencies and more than 40 officials from the European Central Bank and Washington-based IMF, most of whom arrived Friday.

The talks are the latest stage in Europe's yearlong crisis over too much government debt. Greece had to be bailed out to avoid bankruptcy in May, and some analysts think Portugal may follow Ireland in seeking help from a ?750 billion backstop put together to backstop indebted governments.

Officials on all sides cautioned that the talks could stretch into early December, after Ireland gives more clarity on its plans by publishing a four-year outline for slashing ?15 billion ($20.5 billion) from its deficit -- forecast this year to reach a stupendous 32 percent of economic output.

Health Minister Mary Harney said the plan, expected to include ?4.5 billion in cuts and ?1.5 billion in new taxes for 2011 alone, will be published Monday or Tuesday.

Officials in Germany, France, Britain and Austria argue Ireland should be prepared to raise its 12.5 percent tax on corporate profits, a powerful lure for attracting the 1,000 multinationals that have chosen Ireland as their European Union base.

They argue it's not fair for Ireland to receive aid from EU partners while simultaneously sticking to a tax policy that amounts to unfair competition. Ireland says the low tax policy is an anchor for keeping employers who generate a fifth of Ireland's gross domestic product and provide the healthiest stream of tax revenue.

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan, speaking ahead of Friday's talks, said the defense of the 12.5 percent rate was "a red line" that Ireland would not allow the IMF to cross.

"We will not have economic recovery if we do not retain our strong international export-focused drive. We have to retain the economic policy instruments that allow us to do that," Lenihan said.

Ireland has been reluctant to accept an EU-IMF bailout, stressing that the state itself has cash reserves sufficient for mid-2011. It fears that the EU and the IMF will impose unpopular policy decisions as part of any aid package.

But Ireland's hand has been forced by a recent run on deposits at Irish banks, which are already receiving a minimum ?45 billion bailout. The European Central Bank has been stemming the deposit losses with short-term loans that have ballooned to a reported ?130 billion, a quarter of the ECB's eurozone loan book.

Irish media say the ECB last week leaked its unhappiness with Ireland's failure to suggest a realistic program for reducing the dependence of Irish banks on ECB cash. Ireland's representative on the Frankfurt-based bank, Irish Central Bank governor Patrick Honohan, said Thursday he expects Ireland to receive a credit line worth tens of billions of euro that would serve as a backstop for Irish banks struggling to access funds on open markets.

[Associated Press; By SHAWN POGATCHNIK]

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