The Finance Minister says he wants to repay Irish bailout loans early. Michael Noonan says Ireland could save tens of millions of euro by taking out new loans to repay its old ones.

Ireland is currently paying 5% interest on its loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). That is more than twice as much interest as it would pay to borrow the same money on the bond markets.

The bailout IMF bailout currently sees the government paying about €1bn a year in interest.

It was reported last week that discussions have been taking place behind the scenes on the issue.

It is unlikely a formal decision would come before the October budget.

But Michael Noonan says the IMF is already on board for the idea and now he just needs to get approval from the European Union.