Q&A: Irish Republic bail-out

The Republic of Ireland and the EU have agreed an 85bn euro rescue package to help tackle a huge hole in the government's finances.

As part of the package, the Irish government has drawn up an austerity programme detailing four years of tax rises and spending cuts.

They do this by issuing more bonds, which are effectively IOUs to investors.

Image caption, Like many EU nations, the Irish Republic has seen higher unemployment and lower tax revenues

Image caption, The UK and the Republic are key trading partners