Eurozone agrees to give Ireland loan extension

Eurozone finance ministers have agreed to give Ireland more time to repay its bailout loans.

Eurogroup chair and Dutch finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem said the group wanted to give Dublin another seven years to settle the debts.

Agreement is now needed from other European finance ministers outside the Eurozone who are meeting today during a summit at Dublin Castle.

Some national parliaments in other member states, including Germany, will also have to rubber-stamp the proposals over the next 10 days.

Olli Rehn, European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, said it was another very important step for Ireland to return to normal borrowing from the international money markets.

But he warned that the country must stick to the agreement under the terms of the economic rescue package.

Wider discussions will focus on banking union – specifically on the eurozone-wide banking supervisor which is being set up.

Cyprus has agreed to a €10bn bailout with the IMF and eurozone partners but it will see savers with two of the country’s biggest banks incur hefty losses as part of their contribution to the total package.