WASHINGTON - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced here Wednesday it has approved an additional loan of $1.8 billion to Ireland, bringing its total disbursement to the country under a three-year bailout package to about 22.8 billion dollars.

The disbursement was the latest effort of the global financial support for the debt-mired country under the 85-billion-euro (106.5-billion-dollar) bailout program set in December 2010.

It was approved by the IMF executive board after its sixth review of Ireland's performance under the massive financing program, of which a major chunk came from Ireland's European partners.

"Ireland's policy implementation has continued to be steadfast and ownership of the program remains strong despite the considerable challenges the country is facing," the IMF said.

It cautioned that as financial tensions in the euro zone have resurfaced, Irish sovereign bond spreads have risen in recent months and slowing growth in trading partners is expected to dampen Ireland's export-led recovery.

"Approaching the half-way mark of its EU/IMF-supported program, Ireland has once more met all program targets. This attests to the Irish authorities steadfast policy implementation in the face of headwinds from renewed financial stress in the euro area, which has led to a significant rise in Ireland's bond spreads," said David Lipton, the IMF's first deputy managing director.

"Bolstering growth and job creation is central to the success of the program," he added.