Bernard J. Durkan
Ceist:204 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Finance his targets in respect of the national debt over the next four years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25917/02]
Written Answers. - National Debt.
The national debt stood at €36.183 billion at 31 December 2001. The projected outturn at end 2002 is some €36.7 billion. This reflects a projected Exchequer deficit of €193 million and a reduction in the assets of the CSRA of €500 million.
The primary driver on the level of debt for the years 2003 to 2005 will be the Exchequer balance for those years. In budget 2003 Exchequer deficits were projected as follows:
|
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
|
€1,869 million |
€3,442 million |
€3,715 million. |
A slightly broader measure of debt, which is used for the purposes of international comparison, is the general Government debt or gross domestic product ratio. The outturn for 2001 and the projections for 2002 to 2005 as published in budget 2003 are as follows:
|
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
|
36.7% |
34.1% |
34.0% |
34.5% |
34.9%. |
Question No. 205 answered with Question No. 124.