Ireland gets €1bn-a-year boost as EU slashes rate

IRELAND was thrown a €1 billion-a-year boost last night as EU leaders finally agreed to ease the massive financial pressure on the state.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny secured a slash in interest rate payments on €45bn- worth of emergency loans from 5.8% to 3.5% and doubled the pay-back period to 15 years as part of a wide-ranging package designed to pull the eurozone back from the brink of calamity.

The emergency Brussels summit saw a second bailout ordered for Greece after a tense showdown between Germany and France in the run-up to the summit.