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Updated, 18:06
IRELAND HAS RAISED almost €4.2 billion in its first sale of long-term government bonds since before it was forced into an EU-IMF bailout.
The National Treasury Management Agency said investors had bought €4.19 billion of new bonds, due to be repaid in October 2017 and October 2020, as part of its operations earlier today.
In addition, investors swapped €1.04 billion of existing bonds – which were due to be repaid in either 2013 or 2014 – for the later ones, which carry a higher interest rate.
The issue of the new long-term bonds marks the first time Ireland has raised cash on a long-term basis, independent of the EU-IMF bailout programme, since September 2010.
The bonds maturing in 2020 will carry an annual interest rate of 6.1 per cent, while the loans up for repayment in 2017 carry interest of 5.9 per cent.
The NTMA, which is responsible for managing Ireland’s national debt and funding needs, had surprised many investors when it announced the swap-and-sell arrangements this morning.
This evening the Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan, said the return to markets was a “very welcome and positive development”, and said the majority of the demand for the new debts came from foreign investors.
“The strong demand and the fact that over €4 billion of this is new money is a significant step for Ireland in regaining our economic sovereignty,” he said.
Noonan said the auction showed investors were reacting favourably to the commitment by EU heads of government to break the link between banking debt and sovereign debt, but warned that this commitment needed to be delivered upon if Ireland was to return to the markets on a full-time basis.
NTMA John Corrigan said he was “very pleased” with how the activity had been received, “particularly the fact that investors committed more than €4 billion of new money to our first long-term issuance since September 2010.”
He added that the return to independent borrowing was a “very significant step for Ireland on the way to full bond market access”.
He also said that today’s exercises meant the NTMA now had a “significant proportion” of the €8.2 billion it needed to repay a tranche of bonds which are due to mature in January 2014 – a point which had previously been seen as a significant “funding cliff”.
The amount raised is similar to the amounts Ireland had routinely raised in monthly bond auctions prior to September 2010, after which it opted against issuing further bonds due to the rising costs of borrowing that ultimately sent Ireland into its €67.5 billion bailout.
Though the interest rates paid by the NTMA today are down significantly on the rates it would have paid on second-hand markets only months ago, its rates are still higher than they had been before the bailout was needed – and are still far higher than other eurozone countries pay.
An 8-year loan for Germany, similar to the 2020 bond issued by Ireland today, would only cost it an annual interest rate of 0.963 per cent. The UK would pay interest of 1.09 per cent, while France would pay 1.831 per cent.
The costs are not much higher than what Italy would pay, though – with the Italian government being charged 5.807 on second-hand markets this evening – while Spain would pay more than Ireland did, at 6.742 per cent.
Earlier this month, the NTMA sold €500 million of government debt in the form of three-month treasury bills which are different to bonds in that they run over a much shorter period of time.
The ‘T-bills’ reached a yield of 1.8 per cent – beating the 2 per cent interest rate they were expected to pay – and were over-subscribed.
The NTMA had said last week that it planned three to four more auctions of short-term treasury bills before the end of the year, and that “market conditions permitting” it planned to issue a more conventional long-term bond, like that sold today.
Additional reporting by Hugh O’Connell
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Fianna Fail won’t whoosh you into the Seanad this time, Averil! The people have spoken.
Might give Eddie Murphy a vote. He’s very talented and it would be good to have a voice that represents African-Americans in the Seanad.
May as well addd Redacted, Rehab Flannery Shatter and Conlon to the list.
How many on the list voted to abolish the Seanad? Mc Dowell was one.
No Mullens, no Bacik, no Averil Power.
That would be senate reform right there. We don’t need these regressives in a modern Ireland.
So only people who share with your outlook eh Luke. Yeah that’s sounds great.
Fianna Fáil are back. How else would this waster get the nod?
Agreed. But it needs a lot more reform than just those three. All the electorate should be able to elect the Seanad not just those who have gone to certain educational institutions.
Agreed with likes comment
I dont like those candidates either but at least they came through some sort of an Election. Lorraine Higgins on the other hand represents everything that is wrong with the Seanad. That this person who has failed every election at Local , national and European level gets given a position of power in the Seanad I find absolutely repulsive. Reform needs to start by taking away party nominations for failed politicians.
Don’t vote for them Luke
Not sure I like Power but you could hardly call her regressive.
God I’m sick of Ivana Bacik. Totally unelectable yet they keep giving her a seat in the Senate to spout shite from. Hope she goes the same way as the rest of Labour
My issue with Ivana being in the Seanad is that she takes one of the few seats real people can vote for. It isn’t as obvious this time but why did she get a university seat in Seanad 2011 and then sit with the government side. She should have been nominated by labour and let someone the public might want get one of the 6 seats some former students can pick.
Anyone know if Mairia Cahill is standing again? She seems to have disappeared since she got elected.
She is not needed anymore. General Election is over. Labour have more important worries about remaining relevant then trying to have a go at Sinn Fein again.
that was just weird. I thought she would be a voice for women in the Dail. But she said nothing about the funding of the Rape Crisis Centre being cut by Labour.
And as far as I know, she has remained silent on the abuse of Grace, the special needs lady, abused for decades in her foster home.
I find that very strange. Why did she go into the Seanad, I wonder?
Her UNCLE will be pleased.
i told her to give it a rest about smearing SF every turn around and do something positive with her role – she blocked me from Twitter.
Jesus is there anything Avril Power won’t try to get into, she’s well named?
Please God she isn’t.
She used her dreadful abuse as a political tool and that was all she did. It always seemed to me that she was more damaged by SF than any actual abuse she suffered. As an abuse victim myself she certainly doesn’t speak for me. I think she is a disgrace.
Just shows you what kind of a yoke she is. You gave her good advice.
I can hear the slurping of gravy from here.
Get rejected by the electorate? Not to worry, you can have power without accountability, by being elected by a few thousand non accountable nobodies to the unelected Seanad. By the looks of this list, we should have abolished it
Ivana Bacik? Ronan Mullen? Micheal McDowell? Seriously?
Am I an unaccountable nobody?
Marylou thinks so.
J
ust looked at your twitter Marylou. Can see you are against just about everything. Was wondering what are you actually for, besides North Korea, Anarchy, don’t pay for anything, hand out for everything life style?
Am I? That’s news to me. Perhaps you could elaborate. I don’t know anything about North Korea, so have no idea what you are trying to infer there.
And what does it have to do with the Seanad election?
Do you think I should not have an opinion, as well as no vote?
The franchise should undoubtedly be expanded. It’s unfair that I get to vote and you don’t. But that doesn’t make me an unaccountable nobody.
Well yeah it does hun. Because you have been elevated over the likes of me, but you are a nobody just like me.
Why should you get a vote just because you went to university? In what way, are you accountable for who you vote to rule over the rest of us?
If you had any integrity you would boycott it. It is an elitest misnomer in a modern democracy.
As I said elsewhere, I’m thinking of spoiling my ballot. I haven’t decided yet.
Alice Mary Higgins daughter of Michael D. Cosy!
Can we have that referendum again to abolish it Got the result wrong the last time Retirement home for failed politicians They should be signing on instead
People said no to abolishing it so nobody to blame but the electorate
I voted to abolish, who can I complain to?
Ronan bloody mullen enough said .wants to take us back to a 50′s church dominated state
Has Ronan Mullen ever had a real job? He lists his occupation as Senator.
Same for David Norris?
According to Wiki, Mullen is a lecturer in IT Blanchardstown. Norris was a lecturer in TCD, but was on disability payment from 1994-2010 before giving up his post. Two charlatans if you ask me.
Thanks Ben, I had forgotten about Norris. Mullen and Bacik are enough to make the case, that no one should be able to do more than one stint on the gravy train.
All looking for seats on the gravy train.
What ever happened to our reform of the Senate? A nation of idiots
Handy job for them,, a shower of wasters
What happened to seanad reform? One man one vote. If you went to an IT no vote. If you don’t go to college no vote.
The same feninist and ex nuns pushing there moral agenda down people’s throats. It’s a retirement home or a holding centre for the unelectable. It’s has never held any government to account only rubber stamps legislation written by lobbists to enrich themselves. We are no longer a sovereign country we are a small second class state of Europe with .04% of the European population paying back 44% of the debt from bankers fraud. On top of that we pay over 3 billion a year for the privilege of having a Seanad.
Sigh the people had a chance to rid themselves of this waste of money motel talking shop. The total reform promise of the Dail and Seanad that the people demanded and that was disgracefully reneged on by FG/Lab must now be implemented by any future government.
Imagine what Enda and Joan would have got up to without the Seanad to put some manners on them. And yes I know it would only have disappeared after the election
The Seanad in its current form has never put manners on anyone or anything it’s packed mostly with a bunch of cronies and patsies and losers and some extreme left bubbling pseudo intellectuals. The people wanted total reform of these institutions but Kenny the arrogant fool decided to snub the electorate as anyone in their right mind would have known given his form.
First time Trinity voter here, does anybody know where we actually get information on the candidates?
Google. ;)
They’ll send information to you.
I’d spoil it if I were you in protest of the fact there has been no reform. Show a bit of solidarity with us saps who don’t have a Senate vote.
They send it out to ya…
Ladies and gentleman I give you trinity graduates.
There’s this thing called the internet. Ask one of your lecturers about it. It’s great!
I have used google. It’s not the same as a general election where I’m going to be swarmed with canvassers, posters and TV coverage. It’s going to be harder to find out about the candidates and seeing as I’m not in Trinity anymore, I was wondering how they were planning on communicating with me as a voter and trying to get my vote.
If Trinity are sending it out, grand. And Ron, I am actually thinking about spoiling the ballot. I did vote to keep the Seanad, but only in the hope that they’d reform it to give everyone the franchise. Even the fact that Trinity has far more senators per student than the National University system is a disgrace.
You’ll get the election literature in the post from the candidates. 30 candidates for NUI panel. That’s just plain stupid. When I first voted in this there were 6 candidates.
How many were elected by the graduates back then though?
Why do the ordinary joe soap not allowed to pick the eejits they want instead of snobby lazy students?
Snobby lazy students don’t get to vote, just graduates
Just snobby lazy graduates then lol.
Cahill on her way out , Fine Gael / Labour used her as a monkey last year, she is no good to them now. So she can crawl back under her rock.
I think Lynne Ruane would be a good choice! No nonsense approach and got where she is through courage, perseverance and damn hard work.
I don’t give a damn what anyone else here thinks.
I’m voting for Ronan Mullen just to piss all you mofos off.
Scrap it for all the good it does more jobs for the boys
Unfair that I can vote for some of these candidates while many cannot.
What does Carol Hunt know about ANYTHING?
Senate a spare wheel
i am eligible to vote in the seanad elections maynooth panel. how do i get a rundown on the candidates?
a lot of talent there…
have your say