Justin ... you really don't know what you are talking about ... you just make shit up.
Let's look at Ireland's ratings from S&P and the rates they can borrow at.
Ireland was rated AA- in 1989. It was bumped up to AA in 1995, AA+ in 1998 and AAA in 2001.
Were you praising S&P during this time?
On March 24th, 2009 the auction yield on 10 Year Irish Debt was 5.8%
On March 30th, 2009 Ireland was downgraded to AA+.
On April 24th, 2009 the auction yield on 10 Year Irish Debt was 5.1% ... yields fell after the downgrade ... huh ...
On June 8th, 2009 Ireland was downgraded to AA.
On August 18th, 2009 the auction yield on 10 Year Irish Debt was 4.55% ... yields fell after the downgrade ... huh ...
On August 24th, 2010 Ireland was downgraded to AA-.
On August 17th, 2012 the auction yield on on Irish Debt was 5.4% ... rising ... but still 40bp lower than when they were AAA rated.
What was that you were saying again about ratings and borrowing costs?