THE TAOISEACH Brian Cowen has struck down rumours that Ireland is to apply to the IMF or Europe for emergency funding to assist with running the state.

RTÉ reports that the denial, which came hand in hand with a call for “calm heads and cool consideration”, was made as Cowen said the government was continuing to work with its partners to return to financial stability.

Contacts would continue at EU level in the coming days on the price of government bonds and the stability of the single currency, he said, which would include a meeting of EU finance ministers later this week.

Such a body, Brussels has previously said, is the only one with the authority to give Ireland an extension to the 2014 deadline on meeting the target for bringing its budget deficit to within 3% of GDP, as is the EU limit.

Some media reports have suggested that Lenihan could use the opportunity of meeting his European counterparts to seek such an extension, or to make a formal application for funding from the EU to help run the state.

Such an application could also come from Portugal, which earlier admitted that the uncertainty about the eurozone’s debt levels was forcing it to consider seeking a bailout too.

The ECB’s vice-president Vitor Constancio earlier said aid would be available for Ireland – whether it was the state or the banking sector that needed it – though it was also claimed that Ireland would not be able to access bailout funds specifically for its banks, and that such funding could only be received as part of a national bailout and if its inteded use was declared upfront.

Fine Gael’s finance spokesman Michael Noonan earlier said he believed the bailout was already underway, and would ‘come to a head’ in the coming days.