Ireland said it would make a clean break from its EU/IMF bailout next month, forgoing a precautionary credit line that some of its European partners had wanted it to take.

Prime Minister Enda Kenny said it was the right decision at the right time for his country.

Three years after being unable to raise a cent on bond markets, Ireland has funded itself into 2015 with timely debt issuance over the last 18 months, helping create a much-needed success story for the rest of the euro zone.

"This is the latest in a series of steps to return Ireland to normal economic, budgetary and funding conditions... We still have a long way to travel but clearly we are moving in the right direction," Kenny told parliament after an unscheduled cabinet meeting.

Ireland's international lenders signed off on the last part of the 85 billion euro ($114bn) aid programme last week, paving the way for the country to complete it by the end of the year.-Reuters