Richard Boyd Barrett
Question:441. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Finance the amount of interest paid on the national debt in 2020 that was contracted since 2008. [41180/21]
View answerTuesday, 27 July 2021
Questions (441)
Written answers
I am informed by the National Treasury Management Agency that the net Exchequer cash interest paid in respect of Ireland’s National Debt in 2020 was just over €4.5bn. This was a reduction of over €0.5bn, or more than 10%, on the 2019 figure.
It includes interest paid on Government bonds, EU Programme loans, other medium/long term debt, short-term debt, and State Savings products.
It is difficult to say precisely how much of this interest relates to borrowing contracted since 2008 due to certain complexities in the debt portfolio. Examples of these complexities include (i) certain State Savings products allow additions, reinvestments and withdrawals before maturity and (ii) bonds can be auctioned or cancelled from any series regardless of their original issue date.
That said however, it is the case that the vast bulk of the national debt interest paid in 2020 relates to debt contracted since 2008.