Ireland and the International Monetary Fund
Ireland has been a member of the International Monetary Fund since 1957, and has contributed to and drawn funds from the fund on occasion, most notably in 2010, when it received an international loan package of 22.5 billion euros to fund programmes to restore the banking system to health, and reduce budget deficits.
History
Ireland has had a long-standing relationship with the International Monetary Fund since its entry into Fund membership on 8 August 1957. Ireland has both contributed to and used IMF resources, as well as participated in IMF decision-making, with, as of 2017, a 0.71% voting power. Within the IMF, Ireland has accepted the obligations of Article VIII, Sections 2, 3, and 4 of the Articles of Agreement.2010 bailout
During 2010, the IMF had to use its economic bailout capacity to support Ireland and other European Union Member nations as a result of the economic fallout following the Great Recession. During the recession and the subsequent Post-2008 Irish banking crisis the economy went into an economic downfall which led to economic and political turmoil. EU states drew on international funding packages totaling 85 billion euros, of which Ireland received credit of 22.5 billion euros to fund programmes to restore the banking system back to health, and reduce budget deficits.During the bailout period in 2010 the main focus for the IMF and the EU, and in turn the Government of Ireland, was to get banking systems mobilised properly and to restore the health of the public finance market. This process, which began in December 2010, involved a three-year lending arrangement which was meant to enhance the economy of Ireland and the EU. This was done in three stages, as defined by the IMF and EU. The first stage was to identify those banks that remained viable, and return them to health through reorganisation. The second stage was to recapitalise banks and encourage them to rely on deposit inflows and market-based funding. The third and last stage was to strengthen bank supervision and introduce a comprehensive bank resolution framework. At the time of the bailout the Irish government's National Recovery Plan aimed for savings worth 15 billion euros, roughly 9 percent of the nation's GDP, over the period 2011-14. Savings worth 6 billion euros were undertaken in 2011 alone.