Trevor Sargent
Question:59 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Finance when he envisages the National Debt will be paid off; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - National Debt.
It is not possible to say when economic circumstances will obtain such that it will be possible to achieve the levels of budget surplus required to pay off the National Debt.
The Government's disciplined management of the public finances in recent years has ensured significant reductions in the level of Government borrowing and the ratio of National Debt to GDP. The annual Exchequer Borrowing Requirement has declined from 10.9 per cent of GDP in 1986 to an average of just over 2 per cent over the last five years and the estimate for 1994 is 2.4 per cent of GDP. The debt to GDP ratio which was 1132.4 per cent of GDP in 1987 is forecast to fall to about 87 per cent by end 1994. Over the same period, the burden of debt service costs has fallen from 10.1 per cent to 7.0 per cent of GDP.