Ireland's government is watching to see what concessions it can win on its EU-IMF bailout if Greece is given a new deal to resolve its worsening debt crisis, Reuters quoted a senior government minister as saying on Sunday. "The thing I am interested in is whether there are positive implications for Ireland about dealing with the situation the Greek government now confronts," Minister for Energy Pat Rabbitte told state broadcaster RTE. "The Irish government intends for the duration of the programme to continue to negotiate improvements and to take advantage of developments elsewhere in the hope that there will be a multilateral approach to renegotiating (the) bailout." Rabbitte, a former leader of junior coalition party Labour and once seen as a contender for the position of finance minister, also said that he would like to see a rescheduling of debt issued to Ireland under its 85 billion euros ($118.7 billion) rescue package. "Quite frankly the (interest) rate on Ireland must be reduced and in my own view the debt must also be rescheduled but that's another issue," he said. There is a growing acknowledgement that Greece needs a new economic plan to tackle its deteriorating debt crisis and top euro zone finance ministers gathered in Luxembourg on Friday night to consider possible options. A new plan may include pushing back Greece's budget targets, easing the terms of its 110 billion euros international bailout, giving it additional aid and a mild restructuring of its sovereign debt, official sources and analysts say. Irish officials insist that the country's debt burden, expected by the IMF to peak at 125 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2013, is sustainable. -- SPA
