14 Dec 2013

Ireland exits bailout but tough policies to continue

6:03 am on 14 December 2013

The Irish government says that after three years of austerity it has completed its international debt bailout programme, the first eurozone country to do so.

It says economic reforms must continue, but from now on the Irish government will be in charge of the process.

The country was rescued with an €85 billion package put in place by the European Union, International Monetary Fund, and European Central Bank, which have held significant influence on policymaking and the direction of the Irish economy, the BBC reports.

European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso has welcomed the announcement.

Ireland now ranks in the top position when it comes to countries in which we can do business. We can say that Ireland has basically recovered all the competitiveness it has lost in the previous decade."

Finance Minister Michael Noonan said exiting the bailout would not mean a relaxation of the tough policies that he acknowledged had hit the Irish population hard.