asked the Minister for Finance the amount of the national debt as of January, 1987; the amount it is projected to be for the same month over the next three years under the Programme for National Recovery; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - National Debt.
30.
The national debt as of 1 January 1987 was £24,416 million.
As regards the amount of debt in January of each of the next three years, the Programme for National Recovery does not contain projections for the level of debt on those dates nor is any specific year by year timepath for the evolution of the debt implied by the programme. The trend in debt will depend, inter alia, on the specific budget targets to be set in due course for each of the years concerned. These targets will be set by reference to the objective of stabilising the national debt/gross national product ratio during the course of the programme. This will involve reducing Exchequer borrowing requirement to between 5 per cent and 7 per cent of GNP, depending on developments in economic growth and interest rates.
It should in any event be noted that it is not the general practice to publish forecasts of the national debt.