Better late than never. Moody's decision late Friday to raise Ireland's rating outlook to "stable" from "negative" is long overdue, although it still left Dublin with an undeserved "junk" rating of Ba1. But it is also a significant step that underlines that Ireland is on track to exit its bailout program smoothly.

This is Moody's first positive action on one of Europe's troubled countries since the financial crisis began. That in itself is noteworthy, given that the ratings firm has struck a more bearish tone on the currency bloc than has Standard & Poor's, Fitch Ratings and DBRS, all of which still rate Ireland firmly in investment-grade territory. Ireland has joined a select club: It is one of only three euro-zone members, along with Finland and Estonia, to have a stable outlook from Moody's.