Ireland has decided to exit the bailout without a precautionary credit line but it is still eligible for the €500 billion funding backstop provided by the European Stability Mechanism, Taoiseach Enda Kenny told one of the year's largest corporate events last night.

He said the Government will publish an economic strategy next month setting out a sustainable economic pathway back to prosperity based on enterprise.

“This will include a recommitment to bringing Government borrowing down to sustainable levels during the remainder of this Government’s term of office,” he told an Ernst & Young conference in Citywest attended by 1,500 senior managers and associate directors of the firm from Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa.

He said he firmly believed exiting the bailout programme without a precautionary credit line was the right decision for Ireland at this time.

The existence of the €500 billion “funding backstop”, which is available to all countries that have ratified the Fiscal Stability Treaty and that are pursuing responsible economic policies, has contributed significantly to improved investor confidence in Ireland and the euro zone as a whole, he said.

Gathering conference
The EY conference will involve 1,500 recently promoted EY managers from 87 countries coming to Dublin for a three-day event.

The conference has taken place in different European capitals for the past five years and Dublin EY decided to pitch for it after being challenged to do something for The Gathering in 2013, according to Mike McKerr, managing partner of EY in Ireland.