Ireland will become the first eurozone country to exit its bailout in December, Prime Minister Enda Kenny said, warning however there was still some way to go to full recovery.
Ireland was forced to turn to the European Union and the International Monetary Fundfor an 85-billion-euro ($115 billion) bailout in 2010 after its banks collapsed and its overheated property market went into meltdown.
Kenny told a conference of his Fine Gael party on Saturday there were “fragile times” ahead and a budget due on Tuesday would be tough, but that Ireland was ready to leave the bailout.
“Tonight I can confirm that Ireland is on track to exit the EU-IMF bailout on December 15. And we won’t go back,” he said.
“It won’t mean that our financial troubles are over. Yes, there are still fragile times ahead. There’s still a long way to go, The Economic times informs.
