Speaking at today's Irish Business and Employers Confederation's (IBEC) conference in Dublin, Taoiseach Enda Kenny told CNBC that Greece can learn "a lesson" from Ireland.
The Taoiseach continued: "Obviously, we respect and understand the difficulties that apply in Greece from a humanitarian point of view…Greece needs time and space and Europe is giving Greece that time and space."
Mr Kenny says that the Irish Government took a more measured approach to negotiating with the Troika: "We didn't stick by the rules in the sense that we built a relationship with the troika and actually made better propositions than they were making themselves."
He told CNBC that Ireland achieved improvements of its bailout terms through "constructive engagement" with these bodies, adding:
"Now we are in a position where we can buyout the IMF loans - and borrow money in the international markets at historically low rates."
He continued: "Difficult though it has been for our country, the benefits are starting to be seen after a four-year period."
The Mayo TD warned that Ireland's recovery will be carefully managed, and that the country will not return to "boom-bust" economics.
The Irish Government has opposed a write-down of Greece's debt. The Taoiseach told the station that when he met the Greek prime minister, Alexis Tsipras he told him that he should follow Ireland's example:
"I've said that to the Greek prime minister myself - here's a lesson from one small country that you can take some reflection on, in terms of building your own economy for the future."
