Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

38. To ask the Minister for Finance the current status of plans to repay Ireland’s IMF loans early; when the formal process of repaying loans is likely to begin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37058/14]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy will be aware, I am proposing to make an early repayment of a portion of Ireland's IMF programme loan. Specifically the proposal is to make an early repayment of up to €18.3 billion of our €22.5 billion IMF loan, which is the portion subject to the highest rate of charge, and to replace it, in a measured way, with less expensive market funding subject to prevailing market conditions.

For this to succeed, a waiver is required of the mandatory proportional early repayment clauses which are included in each of our loan agreements with the EFSF and the EFSM, and with our bilateral lenders, the U.K., Denmark and Sweden.

This proposal was discussed at the meetings of the Eurogroup and ECOFIN Ministers last month. There was broad political support among the Ministers for the proposal. However, this support is subject to necessary national approval procedures including parliamentary approval in some Member States. This includes Sweden, where parliamentary elections have recently taken place.

On 19 September I wrote to the 5 EU lenders, i.e. the Commission for the EFSM, the EFSF, and the U.K., Sweden and Denmark, to formally request the waiver of the mandatory proportional repayment clauses.

It will not be possible to give a definitive timeline until all the necessary approvals are in place. However, I expect that they will be received in sufficient time to allow the NTMA to start early repayments before the end of this year.