* Offering 2011 and 2020 bonds in first of auction series
* Also starting T-bill auctions
(Adds details, background)
DUBLIN, March 20 (Reuters) - Ireland will on Tuesday auction two bonds with a combined value of between 750 million and 1 billion euros ($1.37 billion), the National Treasury Management Agency said on Friday.
A bond maturing in 2011 will pay a coupon of 4 percent and a 2020 bond 4.5 percent, the NTMA said, adding that further auctions would be held on the third Tuesday of each month in the second quarter.
Ireland plans to raise around 10 billion euros this year from auctions to help fund a widening budget deficit.
Earlier this month, the NTMA said it would also kickstart a new treasury bill programme on March 26 with auctions mostly on alternate Thursdays and amounts around 500 million euros per line. [ID:nLC2605]
Ireland has had to step up borrowing this year as tax receipts nosedive in the face of a steepening recession. The government is planning a "mini-budget" on April 7, the second emergency budget since October, to try to shore up finances. [ID:nLB283319]
The budget gap soared to 2 billion euros in January-February, making further tightening measures necessary to stop the deficit from rising above the 9.5 percent of gross domestic product already projected for 2009 by the cabinet.
(Reporting by Andras Gergely)