DUBLIN, Feb 11 (Reuters) – Standard & Poor’s joined Fitch on
Monday in lifting Ireland’s sovereign debt rating outlook to
stable, after Dublin struck a bank debt deal that improved its
chances of exiting its bailout programme by the end of 2013.

S&P raised its outlook on Ireland’s BBB-plus rating to
stable from negative, leaving Moody’s as the only major rating
agency with a downbeat outlook on Irish government bonds.

DUBLIN (Reuters) – England’s renaissance under coach Stuart Lancaster continued apace on Sunday with a first Six Nations win in Ireland in a decade that left the coach and his staff almost in awe of their young side’s maturity.

It was a first trip to a damp Dublin for many of Lancaster’s new-look side and they faced an Irish team not only with more than twice as many caps, but also momentum of their own following impressive back-to-back wins over Argentina and Wales.

DUBLIN, Feb 10 (Reuters) – England’s renaissance under coach Stuart Lancaster continued apace on Sunday with a first Six Nations win in Ireland in a decade that left the coach and his staff almost in awe of their young side’s maturity.

It was a first trip to a damp Dublin for many of Lancaster’s new-look side and they faced an Irish team not only with more than twice as many caps, but also momentum of their own following impressive back-to-back wins over Argentina and Wales.

DUBLIN (Reuters) – England won a Six Nations match in Dublin for the first time in ten years on Sunday when Owen Farrell kicked them to a 12-6 victory to become the only team capable of winning a Grand Slam after just two rounds of matches.

Ireland, who lost flyhalf Jonathan Sexton and wing Simon Zebo to injury in a first half in which the host’s handling was simply abysmal, briefly drew level with England in the second half but Farrell’s ever-reliable boot proved the difference.

DUBLIN, Feb 8 (Reuters) – Ireland promised austerity-weary
voters that a bank debt deal struck this week will soften future
budget cuts but its improved fiscal sums still rely on the
European outlook improving, a risk that could yet trip the
government up.

Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny hailed the long-awaited deal
with the European Central Bank to ease the country’s debt
burden, which sent borrowing costs down to pre-crisis levels.
as an “historic step” on the economy’s road to
recovery,

DUBLIN (Reuters) – Ireland clinched a long-awaited deal on Thursday to ease the burden of its bank debts, sending its borrowing costs falling to pre-crisis levels and bolstering its chances of ending its reliance on EU-IMF loans this year.

After nearly 18 months of negotiation, Prime Minister Enda Kenny won European Central Bank (ECB) approval to stretch out the cost of bailing out Anglo Irish Bank, slicing billions off the country’s borrowing needs and cutting its budget deficit.

DUBLIN/FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The European Central Bank moved towards agreeing a deal on Thursday to ease Ireland’s debt burden after Dublin rushed through emergency legislation to liquidate the failed Anglo Irish Bank.

Prime Minister Enda Kenny has staked his administration’s reputation on cutting the cost of bailing out Anglo Irish, now known as Irish Bank Resolution Corp, or IBRC, and the ECB’s governing council in Frankfurt was considering a fresh proposal after a previous plan was rejected last month.

LONDON/DUBLIN (Reuters) – Ireland’s government presented emergency legislation to parliament on Wednesday to liquidate the failed Anglo Irish Bank as part of a hoped-for deal with the European Central Bank (ECB) to ease the nation’s debt burden.

Prime Minister Enda Kenny had staked his government’s reputation on cutting the 28 billion euro cost of bailing out Anglo Irish, now known as Irish Bank Resolution Corp (IBRC), and the ECB’s governing council was considering the new plan after a previous proposal was rejected last month.

DUBLIN (Reuters) – Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny was criticized by his government’s junior coalition partner on Wednesday for not issuing the state apology sought by ex-inmates of the notorious Magdalene Laundries following a damning report.

More than a quarter of the women and girls subjected to harsh discipline and unpaid work at the 10 laundries, run by Catholic nuns, were sent there by the Irish state, an official report that ran to almost 1,000 pages said on Tuesday.

DUBLIN (Reuters) – Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny was criticised by members of his own government on Wednesday for not issuing the state apology sought by ex-inmates of the notorious Magdalene Laundries following a damning report.

More than a quarter of the women and girls subjected to harsh discipline and unpaid work at the 10 laundries, run by Catholic nuns, were sent there by the Irish state, an official report that ran to almost 1,000 pages said on Tuesday.