Summary for non-specialists(55 kB)  

A joint EC/IMF/ECB mission visited Dublin between 16-25 October 2012 to conduct the eighth review mission under the Economic Adjustment Programme. The mission found that programme implementation remains strong, though important risks and challenges remain, mainly associated with the growth outlook (reflecting both uncertainty on trading partners' growth and impaired credit intermediation and ongoing balance-sheet repair at home), the stubbornly high unemployment rate, the still large deficit, and banks' large arrears and weak profitability.

This report by European Commission services provides a summary of the main findings of the mission, including an assessment of compliance with the programme conditionality, and an overview of challenges faced by Ireland in the period ahead. This document contains in annex the updated programme documents.

The overall positive assessment of compliance paves the way for the release of EUR 0.8 billion from the EFSM/EFSF, EUR 0.9 billion from the IMF, and around EUR 0.5 billion from a bilateral loan from the UK.