It is unfair to impose bank losses on the ordinary citizens, and budget cuts in a time of crisis should be gradual — these are the two main lessons arising from Ireland’s bailout programme, according to the IMF’s Ajai Chopra.

The IMF has said that Ireland could have saved billions of euro if it had been allowed to burn the bondholders at some of its banks.

The grandmother of a toddler with Down’s syndrome has been waiting a year for a response from the Taoiseach and three government ministers to correspondence about disability cuts referred to them on her behalf by the troika.

The IMF expects Ireland to meet the agreed budget targets over the next two years and reduce the deficit to below 3% by 2015, according to mission chief Craig Beaumont.

Budget hawks in the Government got strong support from the IMF as it warned there must be no slipping on the budget cuts the country has committed to under its bailout programme.

The IMF has told the government it must meet the terms of the bailout agreement and remove a total of €5.1 billion euro from the economy over the next two years.

Labour ministers Eamon Gilmore and Pat Rabbitte are “technically correct” that the agreement with the troika is to reach a 5.1% budget deficit target by 2014, but it will come down to a “game of poker” whether the Government will be allowed ease up on the €3.1bn in consolidation planned for October’s budget, according to UCD economics professor Karl Whelan.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan will determine the size of October’s budget cuts based on tax revenues and not growth forecasts, he said.

The IMF wants the Government to proceed with the planned €3.1bn budget consolidation this year, according to its Mission Head for Ireland, Craig Beaumont.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has made it clear to Labour there will be no tax rises in the October budget.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan said securing a precautionary credit line prior to exiting the EU/IMF bailout programme was not essential because of the country’s successful re-entry to the bond markets.

The Government could be looking at €16bn in fresh losses through its stakes in the banking system and Nama, according to the IMF.

The IMF has urged that Irish banks receive direct recapitalisation from the European Stability Mechanism, which puts it on a collision course with the Eurogroup of finance ministers and the eurozone creditor nations.

Ireland’s debt burden could climb to unsustainable levels if economic growth fails to materialise over the next few years and the banks need to be recapitalised, according to the IMF in its latest review of the economy.

The Government should look at introducing measures for making home repossessions more efficient, including the designation of specialist judges, according to the IMF in its latest review of the economy.

The International Monetary Fund has said sorting out mortgage arrears and getting Europe to restructure bank debt are vital if Ireland is to exit the bailout by year's end.

The International Monetary Fund is urging the full implementation of Budget 2013.

Ireland got a stark message from the IMF when it warned that the country cannot get extra time to cut its budget overrun and must get €24bn for its banks from the EU to avoid a second bailout.

Ministers were left red-faced last night as they admitted being unable to predict the scale of the spiralling HSE overspend as the IMF fired a warning shot over the crisis engulfing health finance.

The troika is set to meet the head of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform today, but the department denies troika lenders expressed concern about savings under the Croke Park deal.

In Nov 2010 Eamon Gilmore insisted that his party in government would not cut child benefit for the wealthy, saying the way to target this group was higher taxes.

Ireland’s bankers and bailout masters are pressing the Government to make it easier to seize homes bought as investments to rent out as defaults on the loans surge.

The British Prime Minister David Cameron is attempting some spectacular reform in the House of Lords.

Groups representing children and the elderly have hit out strongly at IMF recommendations targeting social welfare benefits, medical cards and children’s allowance.

Social welfare benefits, medical cards, and children’s allowance are costing the country too much and must be cut, the IMF said as it completed its latest inspection of the country’s bailout programme.

The International Monetary Fund wants child benefit and the medical card to be means tested.

Social welfare benefits are too high in Ireland and need to be revised to encourage people back to work, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said.

The International Monetary Fund has stated that a deal on Ireland's promissory notes is needed to help Ireland regain market access.

On a gloomy note and under dreary skies, the bailout troika packed their briefcases and left Ireland after the halfway review of the bailout programme.

THE European Central Bank is studying ways to reduce Ireland’s €3.1bn-a-year bill to pay off €30bn in promissory notes used to bail out Anglo Irish Bank, now the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny did not rule out the possibility of a second referendum on the fiscal treaty if it was rejected the first time.

The troika is coming to a consensus on helping Ireland reduce its €3.1bn-a-year bill to pay off €30bn in promissory notes used to bail out Anglo Irish Bank, now called the Irish Bank Resolution Corp.

THE IMF has cast doubt on whether Ireland can emerge from the current crisis despite meeting all the targets of the austerity programme and said the income tax system may have to change further in the next three years.

THE Government is under pressure to sell off most of the state-owned companies to raise about €5 billion to offset some of the country’s debt.