The Central Bank says it will hand over almost €1.1 billion to the State. The money will be paid from the annual profits of the Bank. These hit €1.4 billion in 2012.

Central Bank governor Patrick Honohan said the annual report shows that gradual recovery of the Irish economy has continued. However he urged the government to stick to the terms of the bailout agreement and not row back on the budget.

The report also shows Professor Honohan was paid €213,000 last year. He returned more than €63,000 of his salary to the Minister for Finance.

On course for bailout exit

He says we are on course to exit the bailout. "The major focus for the Central Bank during 2012, and into 2013, has been the restoration of financial stability to the Irish economy" he said.

"This has been, and remains, a significant challenge. However, despite the scale of this task and the backdrop of a weak external economic environment, the overall policy stance is moving things in the right direction" he added.

Mr. Honohan added that there was "considerable progress" on Irish commitments under the EU-IMF Programme during the year.

He commented "For our part the Bank met all of the various benchmarks for financial sector reform; while the government continued with its implementation of legislative and structural reforms. The continued adherence to the targets helped Ireland re-enter international capital markets and has increased the prospect of a successful exiting of the Programme at the end of this year".

"Full implementation of the government's announced budgetary measures remains essential to preserve market confidence" he concluded.