The former French finance minister, Christine Lagarde, is beginning her official duties today as the new head of the International Monetary Fund.
Her policies will be watched closely here as the Government seeks to re-negotiate the interest paid on the EU/IMF bail-out.
The Government has consistently rejected claims that it has abandoned hopes of securing a lower rate on its bail-out loans in the face of opposition from some countries, in particular France, which wants Ireland to increase its comparatively low 12.5% corporation tax rate.
Key to any renegotiation will be Christine Lagarde, the first woman to head the IMF, who starts work in her new post official today.
Her immediate task will be to deal with the threat to the European economy posed by the debt crisis in Greece. But the economies of Ireland, Spain and Portugal remain high on the IMF agenda.
Ireland's case for an improved interest rate will have been helped by Exchequer returns released yesterday. They showed that tax receipts and spending plans were broadly in line with the Government's forecasts and that the budget deficit now stood at €10.8 billion.
