Finance Minister Michael Noonan has said he hopes that Ireland could avail of a lower interest rate for the bailout by June, if French and German concerns were overcome.
He was speaking in Hungary after a meeting with his German counterpart, Wolfgang Schauble, on the fringe of a meeting of European Union finance ministers.
Mr Noonan said that an agreement reached during an EU summit in March conceded the general principle that there could be an interest rate reduction.
Mr Noonan said a cut of 1% would apply if national parliaments approved it.
Arriving at the meeting this morning, Mr Noonan said that Ireland's corporate tax rate was not on the agenda.
Rehn says Portugal may need €80bn
The debt bailout for Portugal will likely require €80bn from European partners and the International Monetary Fund, and will include 'an ambitious privatisation programme,' EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn has said.
Meanwhile, Eurogroup head Jean-Claude Juncker said euro finance ministers instructed the EU, the IMF and Portugal's politicians to negotiate the country's bailout by mid-May for implementation after 5 June elections.
Earlier this week, the caretaker government in Lisbon bowed to intense pressure from financial markets to become the third eurozone country after Greece and Ireland to request financial help.
Finance ministers from the 17-nation single currency area were meeting earlier in Budapest to discuss the sovereign debt crisis that has dominated their discussions for more than a year.
France's Economic Minister Christine Lagarde said she expected Portugal to propose specific steps that would restore confidence in an economy that is among the least competitive in the currency zone.
Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates resigned late last month after parliament rejected a new round of budget austerity meant to help the country meet its deficit reduction targets for 2011.
Mr Juncker has said that a review of Ireland's package was not discussed by the Eurozone Ministers today.
