Ireland will seek a bailout from international lenders, Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said on Sunday, ending weeks of speculation that it would need aid to prop up its banks and help it secure cheaper state funding.

'I will be recommending to the government that we should apply for a programme and open formal negotiations,' Lenihan told public broadcaster RTE. He said a plan to restructure Ireland's banks was likely to be a main feature.

However, he dismissed apparent pressure from other euro zone countries that Dublin should raise its low business tax which has attracted many multinational companies to Ireland, saying changes to corporation tax were off the agenda and would inhibit the economy's ability to grow.

The amount Ireland plans to apply for would not be a 'three figure sum', Lenihan added, knocking down a report on Sunday that suggested Ireland would need as much as 120 billion euros.

Sources have told Reuters Ireland may need 45-90 billion euros ($63-$126 billion), depending on whether it needs help only for its banks or to cover general government spending too.

International Monetary Fund and European Commission officials have been in Dublin since Thursday to discuss financial aid to help Ireland cope with its banks, whose huge liabilities have sent Irish borrowing costs soaring.

The main concern for EU policymakers is that Ireland's problems will spread to other euro zone members with large budget deficits such as Spain and Portugal, threatening a systemic crisis.

'Because of the degree of their dependence and support from the European Central Bank it is essential that we deepen the approach to addressing the structural problems in the (Irish) banking system,' Lenihan told RTE.

'The focus of the discussions is establishing a capital fund that will demonstrate that the banks have the firepower in the event that further losses materialise in them.'

Irish banks, brought to the brink of collapse by exposure to a property and construction sector that slumped after the global financial crisis, has grown dependent on ECB funds and suffered an exodus of deposits over the past six months.

Allied Irish Banks said on Friday it would have to tap central bank funding to cover a 13 billion euro outflow in deposits, mostly from business customers, since the start of the year.

Last week larger rival Bank of Ireland signalled a 10 billion euro outflow of corporate deposits in the third quarter while bancassurer Irish Life & Permanent said it had suffered a 600 million outflow in the same period.

Some euro zone governments want Ireland to raise its 12.5 per cent corporate tax rate, which they feel has drawn away foreign investment which might otherwise have been made in their countries which levy higher rates. But Lenihan welcomed comments from French and German leaders that this should not be linked to Ireland's bailout.

'That issue is off the agenda now, let's be clear about it,' he said.

As well as a bank plan, the government will unveil details next week of a four-year austerity plan to save 15 billion euros, which Lenihan said would help to restore some confidence. But calls are growing for the government to stand down over its handling of the crisis.

Outside government gates on Sunday, someone hung a sign saying 'Traitors' over the official 'Department of the Taoiseach (Prime Minister)' sign.

Public sentiment reached boiling point this week after the government insisted publicly it was not in talks when informal discussions were in fact taking place. Even politicians from within ruling Fianna Fail's own ranks added their voices to criticism of the government on Sunday.

'...the government's actions and comments over the past 10 days have fundamentally undermined public trust,' Fianna Fail politician and former defence minister Willie O'Dea wrote in the Sunday Independent newspaper.

Other colleagues went further. 'Fianna Fail as a party must change, and it must call an election - even if it means that we will lose power,' Fianna Fail lawmaker John McGuinness wrote in The Irish Mail on Sunday.

'(Prime Minister) Brian Cowen must stand down.'

Cowen, who was finance minister at the end of Ireland's boom years, will meet cabinet colleagues later on Sunday to finalise the austerity programme.

Local media said on Sunday that the package would include a new property tax and cuts to the minimum wage, to child benefits and to job seekers' allowances. Tax breaks for higher earners may also stop.

Support for centrist Fianna Fail has dropped to a record low of 17 per cent, a Sunday Business Post/Red C opinion poll showed on Sunday. That percentage at a general election would cost the party half of its seats.

A spring election is likely even if the government manages to pass the first of its austerity budgets next month due to Fianna Fail's razor-thin parliamentary majority, which is expected to be cut further in a by-election on Thursday.

A coalition of centre-right Fine Gael and centre-left Labour is considered the likely successor, although they would be unlikely to deviate far from the austerity programme, particularly if it is linked to the aid package.

Unions say any further measures may prove a tipping point.

'The talk now is of the budget, and effectively destroying the social welfare system. I think there is going to be huge civil unrest as a result of that,' TEEU union leader Eamon Devoy told Reuters.