Greek banks would have collapsed in days without deal – Irish finance minister

(Reuters) – Greece’s banking system would have collapsed within days had Athens not compromised significantly and struck a funding agreement with euro zone ministers, Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan said on Saturday.

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“The biggest threat to Greece was that their banking system would go belly up next Wednesday,” Noonan told national broadcaster RTE at his Fine Gael party’s annual conference.

Cyprus was just for starters – Ireland could provide the main course

Union rejection of €1bn in spending cuts means the Irish government find itself forced to slash public sector pay by 7%

Cyprus was just an hors d’oeuvre. Portugal is readying itself for a convulsive moment when the government attempts to bypass a constitutional court ruling that bans many of its most caustic austerity measures. The situation worsens daily in Greece. And then there is Ireland.