Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 September 2014
237. Deputy Joanna Tuffy asked the Minister for Finance the cost of servicing the national debt; the total amount owed and the interest rate paid each year from 2010 to 2014, inclusive; the amount of interest he anticipates will be paid in the year 2015; the details of the source of funds used to pay the debt; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33596/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraA time series on the outstanding stock of national debt and the servicing of national debt are available in the Budgetary & Economic Statistics published by my Department. However, as general government debt expressed as a percentage of gross domestic product is the standard metric internationally for assessing debt levels, this is the more appropriate metric to look at. On that basis, the general government data is set out in the following table.
The national accounts are compiled in the EU according to the European System of National and Regional Accounts (ESA) framework. Since July 2014, the national accounts are being presented on a new statistical basis, ESA 2010. The table presents 2010 to 2013 data on an ESA 2010 basis, as restated by the CSO in the quarterly government finance statistics published in July 2014.
It should be noted, however, that the latest estimates for 2014 and 2015 are those published in my Department's Stability Programme Update of April 2014, which were prepared on the previous ESA 95 basis. The ESA 2010 changes will impact the forecast for interest due on general government debt for the years 2014 and 2015 and will be included in the next update of the macro-economic and fiscal forecasts, to be published as part of Budget 2015.
Table 1 Interest, debt and average interest rate 2010 - 2015
|
- |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014f1 |
2015f1 |
|
General government interest (€ million) |
4,920 |
5,888 |
7,157 |
7,658 |
7,966 |
8,452 |
|
General Government Debt (€ million) |
144,163 |
190,111 |
210,226 |
215,538 |
204,400 |
209,300 |
|
Implied average interest Rate2 |
4.71% |
4.08% |
3.76% |
3.64% |
3.9% |
4.1% |
Notes:
1 2014 and 2015 data on an ESA 95 basis
2 The implied interest rate is calculated by dividing the general government interest in year t by the stock of general government debt outstanding in year t1. Because of the break in the series, the implied interest rate for 2014 is that published in SPU 2014.
Regarding the interest rate paid each year, the various elements of general government debt can attract a range of different interest rates. A more practical metric would be to calculate an average interest for all general government debt. The table above shows the results of these calculations.
General government debt is made up of National Debt and debt from all bodies classified within Government. Funds to service the National Debt are sourced from the Central Fund and are shown on the Exchequer Statement under non-voted current expenditure. The service of debt from bodies classified within Government may be paid from own-resource income or from funding allocated to those bodies.
