The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) has said a €6 billion long-term bond was heavily oversubscribed, with demand from 150 investors.
This is the first time Ireland has tapped the debt market since 2005, when it raised $500m which was then converted into euro. Strong public finances meant no new bond issues were needed in 2006.
NTMA director of funding and debt management, Oliver Whelan, told Reuters demand came mainly from European investors, especially from the UK, Germany, Austria and France as well as from Ireland.
The NTMA said the money raised by the bond, due in October 2018, would be used for general financing purposes although the agency's chief executive Dr Michael Somers said last week that it would be used to pay off maturing debt.
When the NTMA was set up in 1990 it took three months' worth of tax revenue to pay the interest on the national debt, but a booming economy has meant Ireland has been able to strengthen its public finances considerably and pay down debt.
