asked the Minister for Finance the national debt-gross national product ratio of the State in each of the past ten years.
Written Answers. - National Debt-GNP Ratio.
143.
The information requested by the Deputy is set out in tabular form below.
TABLE
|
Year |
National Debt-GNP Ratio |
|
% |
|
|
1988 (Provisional) |
133 |
|
1987 |
133 |
|
1986 |
130 |
|
1985 |
118 |
|
1984 |
113 |
|
1983 |
106 |
|
1982 |
94 |
|
1981 |
94 |
|
1980 |
88 |
|
1979 |
86 |
The Finance Accounts 1987 included certain changes made in calculating the national debt. These changes arose from the elimination of circular transfers following the enactment of the Local Loans Fund (Amendment) Act, 1987, and the incorporation, as a credit in the national debt statement, of liquid assets which were previously included in the statement of capital assets in the Finance accounts. For the purpose of calculating the ratios in the above table the national debt figures for each year from 1982 onwards have been revised to take account of these changes; for the years prior to 1982 the national debt figures have not been revised in this way.