Ireland's four-year plan to reduce its swollen budget deficit is unlikely to be changed by the involvement of the European Union (EU) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Ireland's internal affairs, Ireland's finance minister Brian Lenihan said on Monday.
Lenihan told the press the three-year financial rescue deal that is currently being negotiated with Brussels - which is currently estimated to hover at around 90 billion euros - will help the Irish government make a speedy return to the bond markets.
Lenihan said an outline of Dublin's four-year budgetary strategy, due to be released on Wednesday, was shown to IMF and E.U. officials, and that they had been broadly satisfied with the numbers.
Lenihan insisted that applying for the emergency rescue package did not mean that the nation was bust because it still has significant cash reserves.
Meanwhile Lenihan also welcomed the Britain's offer of a direct loan to Dublin, in addition to its contribution through the European stability mechanism.
The British Chancellor George Osborne announced a 7 billion-pound loan to Ireland at the House of Commons yesterday.
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