Ireland considering repaying €8 billion of EFSM loans early, finance minister says

Irish ​Finance Minister Simon Harris said ​on Thursday that he ‌will seek ​to give the country's debt agency the option to repay €8 billion ($8.9 billion) in loans received as part ‌of the country's 2010 international bailout ahead of schedule.

The proposed repayments relate to loans provided under the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (EFSM), national broadcaster RTE reported. Ireland has €15.3 ‌billion in EFSM debt outstanding, just under half of the debt due ‌to be repaid to European institutions. "This will save money. The only reason we would do it is if it actually saves the taxpayers money on interest payments on debt," Harris ⁠told ​Newstalk radio in ⁠an interview, saying he brought the proposal to cabinet this week.

Ireland repaid the last of ⁠its IMF loans ahead of schedule nine years ago. A surge in corporate tax ​revenue paid by US multinationals has transformed the country's public finances since ⁠then, leading to large budget surpluses in each of the last four years that have limited ⁠Ireland's ​borrowing needs.

The country's debt agency also had a cash and liquid asset balance of €28 billion at the end of September. The early repayment, ⁠which RTE said is expected to be made by year-end following consultation with ⁠the European Commission, would ⁠cut Ireland's national debt, which stood at €210 billion or 63% of modified gross national income at the end ‌of 2025.

($1 = ‌0.8971 euros)