Ireland has successfully raised up to €4 billion on the international bond markets this morning.
Investors have so far offered to buy over €9 billion of new Irish debts in an auction today.
The National Treasury Management Agency was hoping to raise in the region of €3 billion euro - but is likely to now increase the amount it borrows, to take advantage of the strong investor demand and low interest rates.
Having originally suggested an interest rate of 3.66 per cent, the cost of borrowing is now likely to fall significantly as investors compete against each other for the opportunity to invest in Irish bonds.
The overall interest rate for the debts is likely to fall to around 3.5 per cent, though one trader said some investors were willing to take an interest rate of as low as 3.23 per cent.
Ireland has already built up enough cash reserves to avoid the need to borrow in 2014, but the NTMA has been keen to enter the bond markets more regularly as Ireland tries to return to normality after the Troika bailout.
The government's expecting to run a deficit of just under €11 billion this year, and has budgeted to borrow around €9.2 billion - so raising €4 billion in the first week of the year would be a major boost.
The strong investor demand also raises the prospect of Ireland entering the markets more regularly this year and borrowing even more money at cheaper rates.
This would give the NTMA the resources to try and buy back some of Ireland's older, more expensive bonds - issued shortly before entering the bailout - on the second-hand markets.
