Ireland sells €500m in bills at zero interest

Ireland is now able to borrow money for free.

The country borrowed half a billion euro from investors in the form of short-term bills today, with no interest at all.

The National Treasury Management Agency auctioned off €500m of bills on the lowest rate of 0%, to mature in six months.

The auction received €1.745bn in bids for the €500m in bonds - a demand three times that of supply.

Treasury Bills are designed to give the NTMA flexibility in generating liquid assets to fund long-term plans, and their sale is limited to 18 dealers and three "eligible counterparties".

The fall in the cost of borrowing is partly because of the latest measures from the European Central Bank, which has driven down the cost of borrowing to most Eurozone countries.