Negative interest rates are working - ECB's Makhlouf

DUBLIN (Reuters) - One of the newest members of the European Central Bank's Governing Council said on Wednesday that negative interest rates were an effective measure, but that they would be more effective if governments backed them up with fiscal measures.

"Are negative rates working? I think they are working, which is why the government council took the decisions it did back in September," Irish Central Bank Governor Gabriel Makhlouf told a news conference.

"The point that Mr. Draghi made at the time is that monetary policy would work much more effectively if it was supported by other tools, in particularly fiscal tools," he added.

(Reporting by Padraic Halpin)