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THE IMF has confirmed the release of almost €1 billion in new bailout loans for Ireland, the ninth time it has lent to Ireland.
The Washington-based Fund said last night it was releasing about €970 million in loans to Ireland following the completion of the ninth quarterly review of Ireland’s progress.
The IMF said it was happy to release the loans given how Ireland had comfortably met its deficit targets for 2012, when the deficit stood at 7.75 per cent of GDP – well inside the 8.6 per cent target sent by the IMF and its European lending partners.
The target for 2013 stands at 7.5 per cent, with the IMF suggesting Ireland will actually keep the deficit to within 6.75 per per cent of GDP.
It sounded a warning over the volume of ‘non-performing loans’ on the books of the banks, however, suggesting that a quarter of all loans at domestic banks were in some kind of repayment difficulty.
Acting IMF chair David Lipton said the Irish authorities had “pursued steadfast policy implementation for more than two years and positive results are emerging”.
“Recent economic indicators suggest a nascent revival of domestic demand, Irish bond yields have fallen to pre-program levels, and the government’s market access has deepened, as seen in the successful issuance of 10-year bonds.”
Lipton welcomed recent moves to encourage banks to work with troubled mortgage holders to restructure their loans, but said Ireland needed to continue its path of rigorously pursuing the targets laid down for it.
He repeated the IMF’s wish, however, that European leaders would follow up on their pledges to split banking and sovereign debts.
“Timely and forceful delivery on European pledges to improve program sustainability, especially by breaking the vicious circle between the banks and the Irish sovereign, would go a long way toward Ireland’s durable exit from drawing on official support,” he said.
Ireland has now been approved for over €20 billion in IMF loans, almost 90 per cent of the total amount. IMF inspectors are due to visit Ireland three more times – in April, July and October – to appraise Ireland’s performance and approve the distribution of the remaining €2.43 billion in IMF loans.
Ireland has borrowed €21.7 billion from the European Commission-backed EFSM, and €12.74 billion from the EFSF which is funded by other Eurozone members.
In addition, it has borrowed €2.45 billion from the British government, €300 million from Sweden, and €200 million from Denmark.
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Phew….the tax on my van is due and the fridge is nearly empty.
Thanks IMF.
Roll on the usual bunch of liars who say they will have restored our sovereignty next year.
At this stage it would be better and cheaper to go belly up. Keep the money Christine pay your legal fees with it.
Sovereignty is a constitutional right of all citizens and therefore any money borrowed without a referendum is Illegal; any politician who signs for any of this money is personally liable not the people or the State ; let Mike keep signing for it ; he’s dead right he has no guarantor !
In my learned opinion !
@leonard- this year, not next year. And I’m sure you’ll be on here acknowledging you we’re wrong when it happens, yes?
Who told you about the revolution Kevin?
Welcome my friend, be you Irish Citizen or not !
Not getting the Irish citizen reference
sorry kevin you once asked me if I had a vote I told you Iwas an Irish citizen ; I have asked you the same question and you haven’t answered it !
Are you an Irish Citizen?
If you’re not then it’s cool you are here for a reason!
It just that I see it as a courtesy to be prepared to answer the questions that you ask of others ; it’s an Irsh thing ; answer a question with another question and all that !
@dermot- yes, I’m Irish. Have a passport & everything. All the mod cons
1 billion? Sher that’s chicken feed to us now…. We are used to big numbers like…21 billion, 74 billion, I mean 1 billion!?
Passport and everything!? A FGoul ID card too, wow…. But I’d burn that last one…
Thanks for the reply Kevin ; appreciate it !
I wonder how much of this goes to pay this cancer of a government .
Too much.
So who should we get instead? FF, SF, Luke Ming Flanagan And Others (LMFAO)? Give it a break.
Or how about a clown section,you could head it up.
Yea, cos the status quo is working soooooo well. Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard.
Haha you’re right there not much leadership in that bunch
who asked for your I.Q in percentage terms david ? –
that’s a joke dude by the way ! I hope you see the funny side !
If not then the answer is of course that I.Q is not measured in percentage terms !
Actually David I asked this question before to a well known FG TD after he repeatedly wheeled out the auld “bailout pays for SW” crap you people like to throw out every so often.
He admitted that just as much goes into TD wages and expenses as SW and other.
So either you’re lying or misinformed or he was.
Nice try in defending YOUR government though.
Aren’t the I.M.F. very silly pumping all that paper that they get out of a printer into ireland and expecting to get our time and resources back for paper ; Silly I.M.F. .
That Christian laggard looks like she could do with a new pointy hat and broomstick
And a ride. Sorry… She does though
i thought we’re preparing for an exit?
Where’s David and Keviin when you need them for a complete and thorough (sic) rebuttal to your excellent observation !
Oh Joy!Oh Rapture!
That’s a 10 out of 10 green thumbs from me; when sarcasm is used in the right way it is the highest from of wit !
” nascent revival of domestic demand” – they must be right.
Imposing the property tax, water charges and additional taxes, imposing severe personal expenditure cutbacks on distressed borrowers and implementing the various austerity measures will pump prime the Irish economy especially in the area of domestic consumer demand. The Government has increased our availability of discretionary income.
I am really worried about run away economic growth. Our bust is now boom.
Sir, are you saying we have a booming bust?
@ Declan Hickey, our bust has got way boomier.
But I really like “booming bust”.
You have invented a new economic term and it was first posted on The Journal today,
@Peter, lol thanks.
I definitely would
Not if it had handle bars & pedals.
we should have bailed, any other country that bailed has come back,, we will be in debt forever,, oh and enda ,, so glad you got another pay raise,,, u deserve it,, and all the other leeches backing you,, why cant we get them out,, why do we have to have a party,, why cant we just have the best man for the job,, and make them fireable when they mess up,, what rights do the people have, to have voted for lies,,, i want my vote back,, i would never ever have voted them in if i knew the truth,, cant we get them out on deception,,,
You wouldn’t want to meet that woman in a dark alley
Or maybe I would!
If it would not be too forward of me to ask, what is the interest rate on the money we are borrowing? I see that mentioned nowhere in the story. If we were taking a loan from a bank, that would be required disclosure. Apparently, there is no such requirement for sovereign borrowers?
Ahhhh, the most important question of all.
The rate hasn’t changed since 2011. The article doesn’t explicitly mention the rate because it’s not different, so there’s no “new” news on that score. The rate was fully disclosed in 2010/2011, and has always been freely available. It was never “ridden” or “secret”. On this issue there was and is no conspiracy to “hide” this information.
The rates were originally negotiated at 3.17% at the end of 2010, but this was quickly renegotiated down to 3.04% in March 2011, and this is rate rate it is currently at, and will remain so until the end of 2013, when we have planned to have fully repayed the debt.
If payment gets restructured to allow for a longer period of repayment, the rate will increase to 3.85% if the repayment times stretches out longer than the original 3 year borrowing period ( ie, if we have not repayed the IMF debt by the end of 2013 ). This is the rate that was renegotiated in March 2011. The original rate would have been 4.04%
Irrespective of the morality of the loan, etc., the rates themselves are actually pretty good by the standards of the time and by current lending standards.
I hope this clearly answers your question. More information can be found at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/03/imf-ireland-quota-idUSWAL3EE72620110303
Very good. Thank you Nikolas.
Just a general question. Is anybody Here from Endas constituency here? Do his own people even like him anymore?
I am from Enda’s constitutency! Never voted for him personally but he’s guaranteed to be re-elected at the next election I’d say!
@ Nigel… I wouldn’t put a bet on that.
kenny and the rest of his lieing sleveen ilk will be destroyed at the next election.
@Mike, I’d put money on him being re-elected! I know the govt may be hated and all that, but I still see no better choices out there!! And I’m not a fg, labour, ff, sf or any other party supporter for the record!
He won’t run for it.
He’s got what he’s always wanted.
How long before Christiane Lagarde has to resign? Then what happens?
She is already under investigation back home.
And Dominic Strauss kahn is up for organising ” parties”. I wonder if any politicians ever went to those parties; Oh silly me politicians are only in Political Partys”
CFJ’s tonight lawd
EH!!! I thought that when we signed the prom note that the resulting “deal” ment that “we” were saying 1billion in interest, Why do we need another 1billion in loans if this is the case, This is like putting concrete boots on your victim throwing him in the river and pouring more concrete on top just to keep him down. Speaking of which Ms. mirkel has come out and said that the money held in Cyprus banks is mostly “dodgey”????. This is edna territory if you cant get them to do what they’re told, sling some mud, bring them down a peg or two that’ll teach em to tow the line. When they go to these junkets in brussels they must be attending the same cow pat chucking contests.RUN CYPRUS RUN.
That should be SAVING not saying. MY BAD :)
WHAT!!! didnt we not get a bail out a few years ago..how much does this country need…is sellin cop stations not enough or hiring a nurse on less money…or wait house tax water rates…totally wrong
Can we just pay the Brits back first? That’s just humiliating.
Kevin, I shall make you Minister for Communications ; that’s brilliant ;
You are dead right we should not pay them back we can keep it as reparations for the famine, the destruction of our forests by henry the 8th., the scourge that Strongbow brought from the crusades that we Irish hid in our legend of the LEPER-acain etc. etc.
Men like you joining the revolution gives me an added sense of pride in our shared Irish Blood ; you don’t have to bother with that ould question I was asking you !
Pay back the British Crown ;Humilitating is the perfect word !
Well done Sir !
CAPTION ; “I will leave you with this much !”
I thought she was describing the size of Enda’s balls!
censored ; that comment reminded me never to read a comment with a cup of tea at your lips !
Burritos taste better when cold.
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