The government's cost of borrowing has continued to fall after Ireland's credit rating was upgraded by Moody's.

This afternoon the government would pay 3.28 per cent interest to take out a 10-year loan.

That's the lowest interest rate being charged by investors since 2005.

In addition, the downgrade has also seen the cost of a 5-year loan fall to 1.63 per cent - lower than the costs for the UK or Sweden,

Although Ireland managed a successful issue of a 10-year bond earlier this month, despite the Moody's 'junk' rating, the lifting of the unwanted status means more investors are willing to lend to the Irish government.

This is because some fund managers are forbidden from buying any bonds which are rated as 'junk' by any of the three major ratings agencies.