The IMF said Dublin was on track to meet its obligations under the deal, but "near-term prospects are weaker and significant fiscal, financial sector and unemployment challenges remain".
Ireland was forced to seek help after a property crash left its banks massively under-capitalised and the state's finances collapsed.
Since then it has stuck rigorously to the recipe of austerity laid out in the programme by its "troika" of lenders.
The EU is desperate for Ireland to exit the rescue smoothly to show the tough-love approach can succeed, given the struggles of fellow bailout recipients Greece and Portugal and deep-rooted public dissatisfaction across the region.
Ireland has met nearly all its funding needs through next year by issuing debt periodically over the last 12 months, having issued a 10-year bond in March for the first time since being locked out of markets in late 2010.
Yet banks continue to shun calls from households and businesses for easier credit conditions while struggling with low profits and a ratio of bad loans that has reached 26%.
Unemployment also remains a huge problem. A fall in the jobless rate from 15% to 13.7% since early 2012 has eased the social security burden but 58% of those without work are considered long-term unemployed, "posing a risk to Ireland's growth potential", said the IMF.
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