Ireland should take downgrade ‘with grain of salt’

IRELAND should take its credit rating downgrade to “AA” by Standard & Poor’s “with a grain of salt” and stick to its laudable plan of fiscal consolidation, says Jim Flaherty, Finance Minister of AAA-rated Canada.

These words of support are very timely for Ireland, which yesterday saw its borrowing costs soar, following the S&P downgrade.

Ireland now has to pay 5.4% interest on any 10-year overseas loan, second only to Greece in the eurozone.