On Ireland

Ireland, under attack by financial markets for its economic, financial and fiscal problems, may be getting assistance from the international community. Top IMF and EU experts have been dispatched to Dublin and are expected to offer a “very substantial” support package of “tens of billions” of euros to the Irish government, according to the head of Ireland’s central bank. Ireland, it appears, is on the verge of being given additional resources by the International Monetary Fund and EU institutions so that it can continue to get its fiscal house in order. The latest turn in the saga is related to its financial sector, which is far weaker than anticipated under present conditions.

As the IMF said in its July report on Ireland: “The path from crisis to stability and recovery is a narrow one” – but (the IMF might well have added) necessary.