Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 2 April 2015
82. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Finance the extent to which total national debt as a percentage of gross domestic product has fluctuated in each of the past five years and in 2015 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13843/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe debt for the period 2010-2015 can be outlined as follows:
|
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
Q3 2014 |
2015f |
|
|
National debt (% GDP) |
44.7 |
56.7 |
69.6 |
79.7 |
99.5 |
97.0 |
n/a |
|
General government debt (% GDP) |
62.2 |
87.4 |
111.1 |
121.7 |
123.3 |
114.8 |
108.5 |
Source: CSO, Department of Finance, NTMA
Note 1: Quarter 3 2014 debt figures are the most recent official debt data published by the CSO.
Note 2: The 2015 forecast for GGD is included within Budget 2015 while the 2015 National debt will be published by the NTMA later this year but is available on their website as €182.75bn as at end-February 2015.
National debt is the net debt incurred by the Exchequer after taking account of cash and other financial assets while the general government debt (GGD) is a measure of the total gross consolidated debt of the state. The GGD is the measure used for comparative purposes throughout the EU when comparing debt figures and is therefore the more relevant figure.
It should be noted that the historical debt to GDP figures, as outlined, are available on the Central Statistics Office (CSO) website (www.cso.ie) and are updated when required. The Deputy should also be made aware that following the end-March 2015 EDP return updated figures will be made available by the CSO in mid-April for the period 2011-2014.
The next official forecasts will be published by my Department later this month.
