Ireland’s ‘strong public finances’ and ‘robust economic growth’ prompted credit ratings agency Scope to raise the country’s debt rating.

Scope on Friday raised Ireland’s long-term issuer and senior unsecured local- and foreign-currency debt ratings to ’AA’ from ’AA-’. It also revised the outlooks to ’stable’, from ’positive’.

‘The upgrade of Ireland’s long-term ratings reflects the strong outlook for its public finances, including continued general government surpluses and a falling debt-to-[gross national income] ratio over the medium term,’ Scope said.

‘Moreover, Ireland’s economic growth, as measured by modified domestic demand, has proven resilient during recent crises and is expected to remain robust over coming years.’

However, according to Scope, Ireland’s main credit challenges stem from its high dependence on multinational corporations, and its ‘vulnerabilities to external shocks’ given its small size, and open and ‘financially interconnected’ economy.

The stable outlook reflects Scope’s view that the upside and downside risks to ratings are balanced over the next 12 to 18 months.

Scope left Ireland’s short-term issuer rating at S-1+ with a stable outlook in both local and foreign currency.

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