EU executive approves $1.31 billion aid payout to Ireland BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Ireland's international lenders have approved the release of 1 billion euros ($1.31 billion) in financing to Dublin, the European Commission said on Tuesday, adding that the country's economic reforms are making headway. A mission by the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund - known as the troika - carried out in July their seventh review of the country's progress in meeting conditions tied to the Irish bailout. "The program remains on track, despite a challenging domestic and external backdrop," the lenders said in their report. Reporting by Robin Emmott; editing by Rex Merrifield