BRUSSELS (MNI) – The following is the full text of a statement by
the Eurogroup on Ireland, issued after a meeting here on Tuesday
evening:

“The Eurogroup welcomes the significant efforts of Ireland to deal
with the challenges it faces in the budgetary, competitiveness and
financial sector areas.

“The Eurogroup welcomes in particular the announcement by the Irish
authorities that their four-year budgetary strategy will be frontloaded
by E6 billion in 2011 on a total consolidation effort of E15 billion.

“We have full confidence that the four-year strategy to be
announced by the end of the month will be thorough and detailed and will
firmly anchor the 2014 target date for the correction of the excessive
deficit.

“This strategy will also ensure that the public debt ratio will be
put on a firm downward path. Together with the structural reforms that
will be announced in the strategy, this budgetary adjustment should
allow Ireland to return to a strong and sustainable growth path while
safeguarding the economic and social position of its citizens.

“We nevertheless invite the Irish authorities to include an annual
review in their strategy that will allow them to cope with the
implications of less favourable macro-economic developments were they to
arise.

“We welcome the measures taken to date by Ireland to deal with
issues in its banking sector, via guarantees, recapitalisation and asset
segregation. These measures have helped to support the Irish banking
sector at a time of great dislocation.

“However, market conditions have not normalised and pressures
remain, giving rise to concerns that further reforms and stabilisation
measures may be appropriate.

“We welcome the determination of the Irish government to engage in
a short and focussed consultation with the Commission, the ECB and the
IMF in order to determine the best way to provide any necessary support
to address market risks, especially as regard the banking sector, in the
context of the four-year budgetary plan and the upcoming budget.

“We confirm that we will take determined and coordinated action to
safeguard the financial stability of the euro area, if needed, and that
we have the means available to do so.”

–Brussels: 0032 487 (0) 32 803 665, echarlton@marketnews.com

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