Finance Minister Michael Noonan has been ranked fifth in the Financial Times' annual ranking of European finance ministers.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble tops the list for the second year in a row, followed by Sweden's Anders Borg and Poland's Jacek Rostowski.
The Financial Times decribes Mr Noonan as ''a safe pair of hands''.
The FT describes the Irish finance ministry's rejuvenation as ''impressive'' and notes that two years ago the then Irish Finance Minister, Brian Lenihan, came last in the rankings.
''Although the economy is still far from recovered, Mr Noonan has ensured scrupulous adherence to the country's international bailout - and boosted its chances of winning concessions from creditors that could ease its financial pain,'' the newspaper wrote.
The rankings are based on three measures - political ability, economic performance and credibility in the market. Mr Noonan gets a score of 13 on the economy, six on credibility and 4 on political.
