Howlin Hits Back At Comments From Former Imf Mission Chief

Howlin hits back at comments from former imf mission chief

The Public Expenditure Minister has hit out at the IMF former mission chief for Ireland, who suggested we could have had a better deal on our debt burden. Ashoka Mody yesterday toldNewstalk that Ireland could have negotiated a write-down as well as a "slower pace of austerity" - but ended up following the demands of Berlin and Brussels. Brendan Howlin says Ireland "pushed to the limits of what was possible" in order to get the best deal from the Troika. He says Ashoka Mody's comments do not reflect the changes to Ireland's bailout programme. "He wasn't particularly helpful to us when he actually could help us, and apparently once he's out of office now I don't know whether it's pauline conversion or reflection" he said. "But in truth, people will be aware that we ahve engaged with the Troika form day one - from the time we went into government - we ahve altered the programme" he added.