Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar has said he sees "light at the end of the tunnel" after EU officials confirmed this week that Ireland will benefit from lower interest rates on all future EU-IMF loans.
Speaking this afternoon, the minister said the agreement that saw a cut in the bailout interest rate would not solve all problems, but was a “big step” in the right direction.
“Really for the first time in three years, for me, I’m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Mr Varadkar told RTE radio.
Mr Varadkar predicted the economy will see growth this year and claimed the cost of the bank bailout was falling.
Echoing comments made on Friday by Minister for Finance Michael Noonan when he said the improvement in the EU-IMF bailout terms will not make the budget in December any easier, Mr Varadkar said the saved revenue would not be reinvested in the economy to promote business growth.
“I don’t agree with that, and the money that is saved isn’t money that is going to be given to us, it’s money that we thought we would have to spend that we now don’t have to spend,” he said.
Commenting on the likelihood of Ireland having to alter its corporate tax rate, the minister was unequivocal.
“There is no question that we will be required, or even would consider increasing our corporation tax rate, and that’s a big win for Ireland,” Mr Varadkar said.