Ireland has  the least sound banks in the developed world the Word Economic Forum’s ratings reveal.

Ireland finished last of the 139 countries surveyed when it came to the soundness of the banking system.

It is due in part to the continuing existence of ‘zombie banks’ such as Anglo Irish which are billions in debt and draining the country’s entire financial system.

The lack of loans from banks was also a negative for IrelandI. t finished at 117th for ease of access to loans.

It was not all bad news however, Ireland has an “excellent health and primary education” system, which is ranked 10th of the countries surveyed. It also has strong college education and training ratings at 23rd place.

The report said Ireland’s decline  “is attributable to a weakening macroeconomic environment as well as continuing concerns related to financial markets”.