EU leaders have reached agreement on a "historic" rescue package for member states hit hard by Covid-19.
A €1.8 trillion deal agreed on today includes €750bn in grants and loans to help economies hammered by the virus and will also fund the next seven years of spending.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin was among the 27 leaders who thrashed out the final details of the deal in the early hours of this morning in Brussels.
The summit was due to last just two days but stretched into five days due to disagreements over debt, grants and loans.
And it almost broke the record for the longest EU summit ever which was held in Nice in 2000.
The summit also caused a delay to Ireland's travel green list being issued as the Taoiseach could not return in time yesterday.
Summit chairman Charles Michel confirmed a deal had been reached in a tweet in the early hours, RTE reports.
At a news conference today, he said: "It is about a lot more than money. It is about workers and families, their jobs, their health and their well-being.
"I believe this agreement will be seen as a pivotal moment in Europe's journey, but it will also launch us into the future."
Meanwhile, the Taoiseach said:"It has been a long summit and a challenging summit but the prize is worth negotiating for."
