The Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan, expects talks with the EU-IMF troika on the Republic’s exit from the bailout to conclude in the autumn.

Earlier today, the minister said that he has had a general discussion with the troika, whose members are in Dublin this week, about strategies for the Republic’s exit from the bailout programme that it has been in since November 2010.

“But they won’t conclude until the autumn,” he said, “particularly after the German elections.”

The minster said that he personally favours a structure that would allow the Republic to borrow money from the capital markets at low interest rates, but that there would some kind of credit line available if the State needed it “to act as a kind of backstop or guarantee for the markets”.

Mr Noonan added that he was sure that guarantee would be available to the Republic if it were needed.