Bailout provides ‘window to deal with fiscal and banking problems’

THE joint EU/IMF bailout agreement effectively gives Ireland “a window to deal with its fiscal, banking and competitiveness problems,” the Central Bank said yesterday.

The institution — via its latest quarterly economic bulletin — said that Ireland’s controversial rescue package was basically necessary in order to help place the country in the direction “needed to ensure a return to sustainable growth”.

“Ireland now has a window of time in which to convince international markets that its fiscal adjustment is well under control, that risks in the banking system are contained and the banks’ balance sheets are scaled down and that the economy’s competitiveness improvements have been consolidated,” it said.