Inside these posts: Ireland

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U.S. to help Irish recover from economic woes

President Barack Obama said during a meeting with Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny on Thursday that the United States would help Ireland recover from its economic problems and that he would visit in May. Get the full story »

Irish unveil 4-year plan to cut $20B

Ireland unveiled the harshest budget measures in its history Wednesday, a four-year plan to claw back $20 billion using spending cuts and extra taxes. Some 24,000 state employees could lose their jobs and the sales tax could soar to 23 percent.

The plan seeks to cut $13.3 billion from spending and raise $6.7 billion in extra taxes from 2011 to 2014 to combat Europe’s worst deficit.

The government’s long-awaited austerity plan is a prerequisite for Ireland to get an international loan estimated to total $115 billion. The bailout is still being negotiated with experts from the International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank in Dublin. Get the full story »

Effort to oust Ireland’s PM as bailout progresses

Lawmakers in Prime Minister Brian Cowen’s own party mounted a rebellion Tuesday to try to oust him, an effort that could trigger a snap election and delay a massive EU-IMF bailout of Ireland. Cowen’s Cabinet colleagues in the Fianna Fail party said they were confident, however, that the rebels don’t have enough votes to pursue a no-confidence motion against Cowen.

The Cabinet gathered at Cowen’s office to complete its four-year plan for unprecedented budget cuts tied to Ireland’s international bailout. The plan, which proposes to slash $20 billion from the country’s 2011-14 budget deficits, is to be published Wednesday. Get the full story »

Central bank expects Ireland to take EU-IMF loan

Ireland’s central bank chief said on Thursday he expected Dublin to receive tens of billions of euros in loans from European partners and the IMF to shore up its shattered banks though the government said it had made no request yet. Get the full story »

Chicago family opens hospital in Ireland

The Cork Medical Centre. (Handout)

A Chicago-area family has opened a third hospital in Ireland, bringing the first new private inpatient health facility to the town of Cork in 90 years.

A spokesman for Sheehan Medical, which has offices in Dublin and Winfield, a western suburb of Chicago, said the facility includes 75 private rooms and will employ 525 people. It cost more than 90 million euros. The group is run by James Sheehan and his father, Loyola University orthopedic surgeon Dr. Joseph Sheehan. Sheehan Medical already owns hospitals in Blackrock and Galway, Ireland. Get the full story »

Commodities sink amid concerns about China

Commodity prices are sinking amid concerns about inflation in China and European talks about bailing out Ireland.

Some of the steepest declines came Tuesday in agriculture products and industrial metals. Traders are concerned that demand may diminish because of the developments in other countries.

Ireland in aid talks with EU, rescue likely

Ireland is in talks to receive emergency funding from the European Union and is likely to become the second euro zone country after Greece to obtain an international rescue, official sources said on Friday.

Irish borrowing costs have shot to record highs this week because of concern about the country’s ability to reduce a public debt burden swollen by bank bailouts, and worries that private bond holders could be forced to shoulder part of the costs of any bailout by taking “haircuts” on their holdings. Get the full story »