It's A Black Day For The Irish

Well, Ireland has formally approached the European Financial Stability Fund for a bailout.

"The provisional estimate for EFSF loans is believed to lie between 60bn and 80bn euros ($82-110bn; £51-68bn).

Dublin says there are no talks on an application for emergency EU funding.

A spokesman for Ireland's department of finance said the country was funded until the middle of 2011, the public-service RTE broadcaster reported."

"Since 2008, Ireland has suffered the worst property collapse of all developed economies, with house values falling between 50% and 60%.

Our correspondent says the Irish government has also all but nationalised the country's banking system, which had lent recklessly at an estimated cost of 40bn to 50bn euros.

The country has promised the EU it will bring its underlying deficit down from 12% of economic output to 3% by 2014. Its current deficit is an unprecedented 32% of gross domestic product, if the one-off cost of bad debts in the Irish banking system is included."

A sad sight to see.