A senior official with Moody's rating agency says that the outlook for Ireland's credit rating remains negative.
Dietmar Hornung, in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires said that concerns about the economy's weak growth continue to outweigh the Government's solid record in cutting its budget deficit.
Moody's downgraded Ireland's credit worthiness to non-investment of junk status as the euro zone crisis worsened.
Mr Hornung is quoted as saying that while the key factors in that decision hadn't worsened, they hadn't improved either.
An investment grade credit rating from Moody's would mean bring the agency into line with the other main agencies S&P and Moody's which rate Ireland as investment grade.
The negative outlook expressed by Mr. Hornung, a senior credit officer, means that it is more likely that Moody's next move will be a downgrade than an upgrade.
Equally, the view could counter some of the positive sentiment expressed this week in the wake of Ireland's successful auction of €500m of short term debt. Mr. Hornung described the move as positive but in line with what was expected in 2012.
Mr. Hornung pointed to the lack of growth, or the slow pace of growth as the key factor. He is quoted as saying that this is caused by weak euro zone and domestic demand but that weak growth means that the Government's debt burden relative to economic output will remain high.
He told Dow Jones Newswires that the negative outlook also reflects concerns about loss-making home loans held by the country's banks.
Moody's projects Irish gross domestic product will grow 0.2% this year, compared with the growth rate of 0.5% forecast by the European Union and IMF, and the 0.7% increase projected by the Department of Finance.
