Morningstar DBRS Assigns R-1 (middle) Rating to the Republic of Ireland’s Euro-Commercial Paper Programme

DBRS Ratings GmbH (Morningstar DBRS) assigned an R-1 (middle) rating to the USD 50 billion Euro-Commercial Paper Programme (ECP Programme) of the Republic of Ireland (Ireland). The rating on the ECP Programme is in line with the Short-Term Foreign and Local Currency – Issuer Ratings of Ireland.

KEY CREDIT RATING CONSIDERATIONS
The securities issued under this Programme constitute direct, unsecured and unsubordinated obligations and rank pari passu with the Issuer’s other current and future direct, unsecured, and unsubordinated liabilities, except those which may be mandatorily preferred by law. The ECP Programme is for the issuance of short-term negotiable debt securities with maturities not exceeding 364 days from and including the issue date. The ECP Programme is multi-currency and STEP (Short-Term European Paper) compliant.

CREDIT RATING DRIVERS
The credit rating for the ECP Programme is expected to move in tandem with the Short-Term Foreign and Local Currency – Issuer Ratings of Ireland. Therefore, an upgrade of Ireland’s Short-Term Foreign and Local Currency – Issuer Ratings would lead to an upgrade of the ECP Programme. Conversely, a downgrade of Ireland’s Short-Term Foreign and Local Currency – Issuer Ratings would trigger a downgrade of its ECP Programme.

ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND GOVERNANCE CONSIDERATIONS
There were no Environmental, Social, or Governance factors that had a significant or relevant effect on the credit analysis.

A description of how Morningstar DBRS considers ESG factors within the Morningstar DBRS analytical framework can be found in the Morningstar DBRS Criteria: Approach to Environmental, Social, and Governance Risk Factors in Credit Ratings (January 23, 2024) https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/427030/morningstar-dbrs-criteria-approach-to-environmental-social-and-governance-risk-factors-in-credit-ratings.

RATING COMMITTEE SUMMARY
The main points discussed during the Rating Committee include the characteristics of Ireland’s ECP Programme and Ireland’s liquidity profile.

For more information on the Key Indicators used for the Republic of Ireland, please see the Sovereign Scorecard Indicators and Building Block Assessments: https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/422772/ireland-republic-of-scorecard-indicators-and-building-block-assessments.

EURO AREA RISK CATEGORY: LOW

Notes:
All figures are in Euros unless otherwise noted.

The principal methodology is the Global Methodology for Rating Sovereign Governments (October 6, 2023) https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/421590/global-methodology-for-rating-sovereign-governments. In addition Morningstar DBRS uses the Morningstar DBRS Criteria: Approach to Environmental, Social, and Governance Risk Factors in Credit Ratings https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/427030/morningstar-dbrs-criteria-approach-to-environmental-social-and-governance-risk-factors-in-credit-ratings in its consideration of ESG factors.

The credit rating methodologies used in the analysis of this transaction can be found at: https://dbrs.morningstar.com/about/methodologies.

The sources of information used for this credit rating include the Republic of Ireland for its Euro-Commercial Paper Programme and Ireland’s liquidity situation. Morningstar DBRS considers the information available to it for the purposes of providing these credit ratings to be of satisfactory quality.

These credit ratings concern a newly issued financial instrument. These are the first Morningstar DBRS credit ratings on this financial instrument.

Morningstar DBRS does not audit the information it receives in connection with the rating process, and it does not and cannot independently verify that information in every instance.

The conditions that lead to the assignment of a Negative or Positive trend are generally resolved within a 12-month period. Morningstar DBRS’s outlooks and ratings are under regular surveillance.

For further information on Morningstar DBRS historical default rates published by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) in a central repository, see: https://registers.esma.europa.eu/cerep-publication. For further information on Morningstar DBRS historical default rates published by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in a central repository, see https://data.fca.org.uk/#/ceres/craStats.

The sensitivity analysis of the relevant key credit rating assumptions can be found at: https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/427192.

These credit ratings are endorsed by DBRS Ratings Limited for use in the United Kingdom.

Lead Analyst: Javier Rouillet, Senior Vice President, Credit Ratings, Global Sovereign Ratings
Rating Committee Chair: Nichola James, Managing Director, Credit Ratings, Global Sovereign Ratings
Initial Rating Date: July 21, 2010
Last Rating Date: Nov 3, 2023

DBRS Ratings GmbH, Sucursal en España
Paseo de la Castellana 81
Plantas 26 & 27 28046 Madrid, Spain
Tel. +34 (91) 903 6500

DBRS Ratings GmbH
Neue Mainzer Straße 75
60311 Frankfurt am Main Deutschland
Tel. +49 (69) 8088 3500
Geschäftsführer: Detlef Scholz
Amtsgericht Frankfurt am Main, HRB 110259

For more information on this credit or on this industry, visit dbrs.morningstar.com.