A spokesman for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) confirmed yesterday that the interest rate charged on its portion of Ireland’s bailout loans would be lowered if changes to the structure of the organisation come into force.

He was not in a position to say how large the reduction would be, however, it is unlikely to be significant given the technical nature of the adjustment and the already relatively low rate of interest being charged on the IMF portion of the loan. Under the terms of the bailout, the fund said in November that interest on its loans to Ireland would be 3.12 per cent for the first three years and “just under” 4 per cent thereafter.

The matter was raised in Ireland earlier this week in the context of the introduction of the the Bretton Woods Agreements (Amendment) Bill 2011, the original version of which was enacted to pave the way for Ireland’s membership of the IMF. The amendment is required to enact changes agreed by IMF members which will give the organisation more resources in the form of contributions paid by members, knows as “quotas”.