The Tánaiste has said he is still confident that Ireland can achieve a cut in the interest rate on our EU-IMF loans.
Eamon Gilmore was speaking in Tanzania where he met US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to discuss progress on an Irish- American initiative on nutrition.
Mr Gilmore said it was not fair or sustainable that the country that was making an effort and meeting its targets is the one being witheld an interest rate decrease.
Mr Gilmore said he had briefed Mrs Clinton on Ireland's economic progress but said he had not asked her about reports that the US had previously vetoed plans to allow Ireland apply a significant discount on €30bn of unguaranteed bonds.
According to reports, in the run up to the EU-IMF bailout deal, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner vetoed IMF plans to allow Ireland apply a two thirds haircut to the unguaranteed bonds.
Mr Gilmore said that, to his knowledge, Irish officials have never raised it with their US counterparts.
Committment to nutrition
Meanwhile, both Mr Gilmore and Mrs Clinton welcomed an announcement by the Tanzanian government to commit to a programme on nutrition among pregnant women and children in developing countries.
Following a UN conference in New York last September, the international programme 'Scaling Up Nutrition' was set up.
Its target is to focus attention on the critical 1,000 day period from pregnancy to a child's second birthday when nutrition is vital.
Since then 18 developing countries have committed to the initiative.
Today, Mr Gilmore and Mrs Clinton were to outline what progress has been made, 264 days into what is planned to be a 1,000 day review.
In Tanzania, 42% of children under five are malnourished, while almost a billion people in the world experience chronic hunger.
