Ireland's Govt debt falls by largest amount in almost a decade

Ireland’s General Government debt fell by €11bn to €225bn in 2022, the largest drop in almost 10 years, latest figures show. 

The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) has today published its 2023 mid-year business update which shows the potential for that debt to fall below €200bn by 2030.

The fall in 2022 was the first since 2019 and the largest since 2014.

Frank O’Connor, NTMA Chief Executive said the NTMA’s Funding and Debt Management strategy has helped mitigate the effect of higher interest rates, with the 2022 interest bill unchanged versus 2021 at €3.3bn arising from fixing borrowing costs at historically low rates for long terms.

"We have entered the higher interest rate cycle in a strong position - Ireland needs to borrow less over the coming years as a result of our pre-funding strategy, strong cash balances and a favourable Exchequer position," Mr O'Connor said.

"Investor and ratings agency sentiment towards Ireland remains positive, as evidenced by the strong demand for our debt and the pattern of ratings upgrades which have continued into 2023. S&P recent upgrade puts Ireland at the AA rating – a level last seen in 2010.

"It is also the highest current rating for Ireland across all the major global ratings agencies," Mr O'Connor said.

"This positive sentiment underlines the importance of maintaining close ongoing contact with investors through the combination of an ongoing investor relations programme and careful management of new issuance.

"Today we are also reporting that ISIF (Ireland Strategic Investment Fund) committed €823m across 20 investments in support of economic activity and employment in Ireland, bringing the total committed in Ireland to €6.5bn across 188 investments," Mr O'Connor said.