Ireland's national debt remains high despite falling in recent years, the head of the agency charged with managing it has cautioned.
At over €200bn that’s still high, Mr O’Connor added, and is still €17bn above the pre-pandemic level. The interest bill only increased marginally last year on the 2022 level, Mr O’Connor said, despite the average yield on new bond issuances coming in at 3.2%.He claimed this was all due to the NTMA’s ongoing strategy of borrowing for longer when rates were low, which had led to the smoothing and lengthening of the borrowing profile, and the locking in of debt at lower fixed rates.
The NTMA also has over €27bn in cash and liquid assets at this stage of the year, reducing the need for borrowing in the coming years. Initial transfers into the Future Ireland Fund and the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund are expected to begin in September, with approximately €4.3bn due to go into the former and €2bn for the latter.