Taoiseach Enda Kenny moved to mend bridges with the European Commission as work is due to begin in the next few weeks on details of how the EU can directly recapitalise banks.

LADS, for the love of God, is there any chance at all that you might come back to us? We’ve been on our own now for a week, and things have been going steadily downhill.

ALVAREZ and Marsal, BlackRock, Oliver Wyman, Pimco: The names mean nothing to the average European.

A golden circle of a dozen or so large firms have an effective monopoly on handling EU bailouts and use them to their advantage, according to an investigation by international journalists.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny last night praised the sacrifices people had made in helping the country move in the right direction but warned that post-bailout Ireland would still pursue prudent budgetary policies.

1. A Homeless Persons Act

Transport Minister Leo Varadkar has cautioned against the of use of “auction politics” ahead of the Government publishing plans to steer forward the economy in its post-bailout strategy.

As he looked out on the snow at Brussels airport after a crisis meeting in Nov 2010, then finance minister Brian Lenihan sat alone and concluded: “Hell is at the gates.”

1. A commitment to properly fund higher education

The Government has been operating in what might be described as a straitjacket in recent years.

Our exit from the bailout programme is undoubtedly a significant step forward for the country and one on which the Government’s PR machine is keen to capitalise.

As we exit the bailout, we need three things to ensure we stay out:

Government policy has met the bailout targets, but at major cost.

The Government has given its strongest indication yet it is willing to go it alone and reduce debt levels without help from the EU’s emergency fund in bailing out the banks.

The Government wants to encourage emigrants, who were forced to leave as a result of the recession, to return home and help grow the economy.

Post-bailout Ireland faces a raft of challenges, including a mortgage crisis, a lack of lending for businesses, health cuts and patchy support for the unemployed.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan has said Ireland can still cut its debt significantly without getting a deal to offload historic bank debt.

There is an oft-quoted anecdote about a meeting in the early summer of 1829 between the Liberator Daniel O’Connell and a Kerry road worker shortly after the Roman Catholic Relief Act — Catholic Emancipation — had been passed by the House of Commons.

AS Ireland blinks at the unfamiliar sunlight of financial freedom after three years banged-up in economic hard labour by the troika, it knows it may have exited the bailout, but is really only out on bail.

Ireland will continue to fight European finance chiefs for a deal on its legacy bank debt, Finance Minister Michael Noonan has said.

THERE’S no doubt yesterday was a defining moment for the Coalition.

The KfW is a German government-owned development bank led by a managing board which reports to a supervisory board chaired by Wolfgang Schäuble, the finance minister. KfW covers over 90% of its borrowing needs in the capital markets, mainly through bonds that are guaranteed by the federal government.

Leading Irish economists have questioned the Coalition’s decision to exit the bailout without an emergency credit line and claimed the move is a short-term gamble for political gain.

Like many people, I remember the events of Nov 2010 all too well. I remember the speculation in the media, the pathetic efforts of ministers to deny the patently obvious, the rapid descent into shambles of a government which had lost control and was rapidly losing any sense of self-respect.

The Coalition decision not to put in place an emergency credit line was deemed a “risky gamble” amid questions over the terms and conditions that might apply to a second bailout.

Ireland’s clean exit from the bailout was hailed in the EU as a great success, but the troika will continue to monitor the country’s economy and the ongoing reforms.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny warned the Dáil that while Ireland was opting for a clean break from the EU/IMF bailout without a credit safety net there were still demanding times ahead for the country.

THE vaunted declaration by Taoiseach Enda Kenny that Ireland will exit the bailout without a precautionary credit line, though welcome, is an exaggerated half-truth aimed at building market confidence ahead of the Dec 15 deadline.

Six of the country’s leading economists have strongly criticised the Coalition’s decision to exit the bailout without a credit line, saying bumpy economic conditions could force Ireland to seek one later but under harsher terms.

The Government announced yesterday that one month from today this country will make a clear break on the three-year EU-IMF bailout programme, without seeking the safety net of external precautionary funding. Thus Ireland will become the first country in the eurozone to exit a bailout.

Ray Kinsella - Bailout exit will not bring fiscal sovereignty

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams accused the Justice Minister today of putting his own individual agenda ahead of political policies and the peace process.

Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams has hit back at Justice Minister Michael McDowell after he accused the party of being of being “completely subservient” to the IRA.

Justice Minister Michael McDowell has reportedly launched another verbal attack on Sinn Féin, accusing it of being “completely subservient” to the IRA.