asked the Minister for Finance the proposals he has to control the growth of the national debt.
Written Answers. - National Debt.
28.
The principal way of controlling the growth of the national debt is by curbing the level of Exchequer borrowing which, as the Deputy knows, is central to the Government's policy on the public finances. The Government have had a significant measure of success in this regard in the past few years. For example, in 1981 Exchequer borrowing amounted to 15.9 per cent of GNP; this year it is expected to amount to 13.1 per cent, a reduction of almost three percentage points. In order to maintain this downward trend, the Government, on 16 October, decided that the Exchequer borrowing requirement in 1987 would be kept below 11.8 per cent of GNP. This will help to restrain further the growth of the national debt.