Irish Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said he would recommend to a cabinet meeting on Sunday that the government should apply for a financial bailout programme from the EU and the IMF.
Ireland's cabinet was to gather for an emergency meeting to finalise a four-year deficit crisis plan seen as key to winning the international bailout and easing fears about the future of the euro.
"There will be a meeting of the government this afternoon. I will proposing to my colleagues that we should formally apply for a programme," Lenihan told RTE state radio.
He did not specify the size of the bailout, but simply replied "of course" when asked if it amounted to tens of billions of euros.
The meeting comes as Irish officials hold a fourth day of tense talks with the European Union, European Central Bank (ECB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) on financial assistance.