Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore has said Ireland has French support for its campaign to ease the bank debt burden.

Speaking after meeting his counterpart, Laurent Fabius, in Paris yesterday, Mr Gilmore said Ireland and France were in agreement on the need to separate sovereign and bank debt and conclude a specific deal for Ireland.

Mr Gilmore said he believed the view expressed by finance ministers from Germany, the Netherlands and Finland – that the ESM rescue fund could not take on “legacy” debts – was not shared by France.