Moody’s maintains Ireland’s Aa1 rating

INTERNATIONAL rating agency Moody’s, which downgraded Ireland’s AAA status last July, has left the country’s current “Aa1’ sovereign rating on the economy unchanged.

In its annual report on Ireland, it praised the Government’s action to date to halt the rapid deterioration in the national finances.

It said the Government has been “proactive” in so far as possible in its efforts to stem the deterioration of public finances but warned the country’s Aa1 rating would be severely tested in the period ahead.