The European Union said Tuesday that Ireland
would receive its next bailout tranche of 1.9 billion euros (2.5
billion dollars), following a July review of reform efforts in the
struggling eurozone member.
The European Commission, the EU's executive, approved its share of
the payment after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released its
0.9-billion-euro contribution on September 5.
Ireland was demonstrating a "strong track record" of reforms to
combat the economic crisis, the commission noted, "despite a
challenging domestic and external backdrop."
The country's 2012 fiscal deficit was likely to remain within the
8.6-per-cent limit demanded by its international donors, Brussels
said, praising the country for economic and banking reforms.
"Market sentiment towards Ireland has improved significantly in
recent months," the commission wrote, noting the decline in Irish
bond yields in recent months.
The country is also expected to receive 0.7 billion euros in
bilateral loans falling outside the rescue package, bringing the
total EU funding for Ireland to 36.6 billion euros to date.
Challenges facing Ireland - one ofthe three eurozone bailout
recipients alongside Greece and Portugal - included high
unemployment, especially among the long-term jobless, and lingering
high private sector debt.
External factors such as the economic health of Ireland's trading
partners also presented risks, the commission said.
The so-called troika of the European Commission, European Central
Bank and IMF found during its last review mission in July that Irish
growth would remain low next year.
The next troika assessment under its 85-billion-euro bailout
programme is due in October.
