Ajai Chopra, the head of the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) mission in Ireland predicted on Monday that the country could "bounce back from the economic crisis" but he indicated that a series of painful economic measures would need to be taken first.

The pain will not be democratic, however. This week it became clear that as Irish pensioners were shortchanged, senior bondholders have escaped unscathed after EU diplomats refused to allow them to shoulder any of the discomfort.

Meanwhile Chopra anticipated that there could be further losses uncovered in ailing Irish banks, possibly in the area of tracker mortgages and small business loans.

Chopra also strongly affirmed his belief that in time Ireland will be able to pay back the shockingly high multi-billion-euro loans it has received in bailout funds.

Chopra's optomistic views were quickly echoed by Europe's Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn, who likewise predicted Ireland would eventually rebound from its economic woes.

Chopra also took the opportunity to respond to critics of the IMF/EU plan who claim Ireland could default on its debts by saying: "We would not be lending into a situation if we thought it was unsustainable."

"Ireland has hit a very deep economic recession resulting from the financial crisis, which hit Ireland because of its credit boom and real estate bubble.

"But the economy will face up to serious challenges. Ireland has a flexible and open economy, which is capable of rebounding relatively rapidly from this recession," Chopra added.