THE BODY responsible for managing Ireland’s national debt has said it is in talks with investors about resuming the sale of benchmark 10-year bonds – considered by the world’s markets to be one of the most reliable indicators of a country’s fiscal health.

National Treasury Management Agency chief executive John Corrigan said the agency was in talks about issuing new bonds to mature in 2023.

If issued, it would mark the first time since before the bailout that Ireland had issued such a long-term bond – and bring Ireland a further step closer to being able to fund itself on the open markets without Troika assistance.

Ireland’s last auction of 10-year bonds was held in September 2010, with a yield (or interest rate) of 6.2 per cent, after which it was decided to cancel the rest of the year’s auctions. Two months later Ireland had entered into an EU-IMF bailout.

Yields on 10-year bonds traded in secondary markets are usually seen as a key measure of the confidence investors hold in a country.

Germany, for example, would currently pay only 1.466 per cent interest to borrow on a 10-year basis, while France would pay 2.104 per cent. On the other end, Italy would pay 4.321 per cent while Spain would pay 5.134 per cent.

Greece, which still suffers from poor investor confidence, would be forced to pay 11.417 per cent for its loans.

Read: Ireland raises another €2.5bn at the bond markets

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