The Transnational Institute pocket guide to the Eurozone Crisis  points out that:

“Much of the  so-called debt crisis was caused not by states spending too much, but because they bailed out the banks and speculators. EU government debt had actually fallen from 72% of GDP in 1999 to 67% in 2007. It rose rapidly after they bailed out the banks in 2008. Ireland’s bank bailout cost them 30% of their national output (GDP) and pushed debts to record levels.”
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