DUBLIN (REUTERS) - Ireland's exit from its European Union-International Monetary Fund bailout has restored national pride and set the stage for a swift recovery, Prime Minister Enda Kenny said in a televised address on Sunday, Dec 15, 2013, to mark the end of three years of economic policy dictated from abroad.

The first euro zone country to leave a bailout, Ireland's exit has been hailed by EU leaders as a sign the worst of the continent's debt crisis is over. Mr Kenny forecast growth could allow the national debt to be cut by a quarter in seven years.

"Our lives won't change overnight. But it does send out a powerful signal internationally, that Ireland is fighting back," Mr Kenny said. "Your patience and resilience have restored our national pride."

Three years after a property crash forced the government to go cap in hand to international lenders to avert bankruptcy, Ireland officially leaves its 85 billion euro (S$146.6 billion) bailout programme at midnight on Sunday. Unemployment has fallen below 13 per cent, from a 15.1 per cent peak in 2012, and property prices have started to rebound, prompting the government to forecast gross domestic product growth will grow 2 per cent next year.

Concerns remain, however, with a sharp divide between capital and countryside, a heavy reliance on exports and stubbornly high levels of mortgage arrears.

"I know that, for many of you, the recent improvements in the economic situation are not yet being felt in your daily lives," Mr Kenny said.

"But it is now clear that your sacrifices are making a real difference... Our economy is starting to recover." The government expects to return total employment to 2 million of a population of 4.6 million from 1.9 million today, Mr Kenny said. Debt as a proportion of economic output will fall by a quarter from an expected peak of 124 per cent this year, he added.

While 90 per cent of the required spending cuts and tax hikes had already been made, there will be no dramatic policy changes as the country aims to cut its deficit from around 7 per cent this year to 3 per cent by 2015, Mr Kenny said.

"Now is not the time to change our course or direction," Mr Kenny said. "The progress that we have made must not be put at risk."