Taoiseach optimistic about possibility of IMF loan deal

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said an application for recapitalisation for retroactive direct bank recapitalisation from the ESM fund is “still on the table” and that the option exists for the State to pursue it by the “back end of this year”.

Mr Kenny also said no decision had been made on the detail of the upcoming budget, but that the latest macro figures were “moving in the right direction”.

“When this budget is over nobody’s going to walk down the street and say I suddenly feel like a millionaire but what they will know is that the Government has continued...to strengthen that recovery, and by strengthening it we increase the opportunity for investment in jobs.”

Speaking on Morning Ireland, Mr Kenny said if the EU and ECB approve and authorise Ireland’s request to rearrange IMF loans, the State could save €1.5 billion over the next five years. He added that reduction in Ireland’s payment of high interest loans could save the country €300-400 million a year.

“It is a measure of the new respect that our colleagues have of the progress that Ireland has actually made here,” he said. “It’s logical, it’s pragmatic, and it allows for Ireland to reduce the extent of payments of high interests loans.”

Mr Kenny was speaking as Minister for Finance Michael Noonan continues to seek political support from the euro group of euro-zone finance ministers today for Ireland's bid to restructure its International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout loans.

The issue is on the formal agenda of the meeting that begins this morning in Milan, which will be followed by a meeting of all 28 EU finance ministers tomorrow.

Mr Noonan needs the support of both configurations of finance ministers for the move, as monies from both the EFSM fund - to which all European Union member states contribute - and the EFSF fund, a euro-area only fund, were used to finance the Irish bailout.

The Minister has also indicated his intention to speak to the Danish, Swedish and British finance ministers on the fringes of tomorrow’s Ecofin meeting about seeking sign-off from both countries for the agreement. The three countries provided bilateral loans to Ireland as part of the 2010 bailout. It is understood Britain, although supportive, made it know in preliminary discussions that it favoured a continuing IMF involvement in Ireland’s post-bailout programme.

Officials in the Department of Finance described as "positive" Mr Noonan's meetings with European Stability Mechanism chief Klaus Regling, euro group president Jeroen Dijsselbloem and European Central Bank president Mario Draghi on Tuesday.

While the ECB will not block Ireland’s plan to repay the IMF portion of its bailout loans early, Frankfurt continues to have strong reservations about the promissory note deal.

Because today’s meeting is an “informal” euro group, no formal decision will be taken.

The IMF's Craig Beaumont told The Irish Times the IMF would accept early repayments from Ireland "without conditionality or charges", noting that other European countries including Hungary, Iceland and Latvia have made early repayments in recent years.

“In Ireland’s case, early repayments to the IMF have the potential to improve the sustainability of its still high public debt,” he said.