Ireland to tap €2bn of EU rescue fund

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe says Ireland already has access to almost zero-interest debt

As few as 200 Irish companies are likely to avail of loans totalling €2bn from the much-vaunted €500bn package to rescue European economies from the Covid-19 crisis — far short of the huge amounts of liquidity that businesses here require, say experts.

Marathon talks late last Thursday saw EU finance ministers agree a compromise deal to provide loans to all businesses across the EU and to allow access for the worst-hit countries such as Italy to access the European Stability Mechanism — which was used by Ireland in the 2010 bailout.