Refinancing of €67bn legacy debt ‘politically a non-runner’

Ireland no longer needs to recoup the money it paid to bank investors when the crisis hit, the head of the EU’s bailout fund has said.

Klaus Regling, head of the European Stability Fund, said that legally refinancing Ireland’s €67bn legacy debt had not been ruled out.

However, eurozone countries were unlikely to agree such a step, he said. “Politically, I think that it is de facto ruled out.”