Vol. 548 No. 5
207 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Finance the position he proposes to adopt at EU level in relation to the failure by member states to meet stability pact targets and guidelines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5885/02]
The Deputy would appear to be referring to the consideration by the ECOFIN Council of a number of member states' stability programme updates on 12 February 2002 in which I participated. These updates set out the budgetary projections for these member states. ECOFIN considered the Commission's proposal to issue a recommendation for an early warning to prevent an excessive deficit to Germany and Portugal. ECOFIN welcomed the commitment of the German and Portuguese Governments to endeavour to ensure that the 3% of GDP deficit limit will not be breached and that no measures which could worsen the budgetary position will be introduced. ECOFIN also welcomed the fact that both member states remain committed to reaching a budgetary position of close to balance or in surplus by 2004. On foot of these commitments by the two member states concerned, ECOFIN considered that they had responded effectively to the concerns expressed in the Commission recommendation. Therefore, the proposed recommendations for early warnings to be given to Germany and Portugal were not put to a vote and were not proceeded with. Council opinions in relation to both member states' stability programmes were unanimously agreed.
208 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Finance the amount by which it is proposed to reduce the national debt in 2002; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5887/02]
The national debt was estimated to be €36.50 billion at 31 December 2001. This was some €10 million below the end-2000 level of €36.51 billion. The likely national debt figure for end-2002 is dependent on a number of factors of which the most important is the Exchequer balance out-turn for 2002. It is currently projected that the Exchequer will be in surplus by €170 million at the end of 2002. However, over the course of 2002, the level of the national debt will be affected by other factors such as foreign exchange movements and discounts and premia on debt issuance and cancellation. A more meaningful indicator of sovereign indebtedness however is the general Government debt, GGD, which is the standard measure used within the EU. The general Government debt to GDP ratio fell from 38.6% of GDP in 2000 to an estimated 35.8% in 2001. It is projected to decline further to 33.7% of GDP in 2002. This is the second lowest national debt in the EU, relative to GDP.
