Rescue Package Agreed by Irish Government

The Irish Government has finally agreed to a financial rescue package funded by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. The deal will mean that for the next three years the performance of the Irish economy will be scrutinised externally by these institutions. In addition, a number of bi-lateral loans have also been offered by the United Kingdom and Sweden, with the UK offering up to £7 billion of contingency loans.

Speaking this morning, Minister for Finance, Mr. Brian Lenihan said IMF and EU officials were "broadly satisfied" with the Government's four-year plan which is due to be published on Wednesday. He went on to say "I am quite satisfied on the basis of the discussions to date that the budget that will be presented to Dáil Éireann on the 7th of December will be our own budget. Nobody else's budget. There has been no request for any change on that.”
The decision to accept this financial lifeline from the EU, ECB and the IMF was confirmed by the Taoiseach Brian Cowan and the Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan at a press conference held at 8:30pm last night (21st November).