General government gross debt (the level of government borrowing) fell by €2.5 billion to €218.2 billion (Table 3.1), lowering the debt ratio from 43.3% at the end of 2023 to 40.9% at the end of last year. Given the significant borrowing required during the pandemic years, the level of debt remains almost €15 billion higher than at the end of 2019. General government net debt fell by €22.1 billion to €159.2 billion (29.5% of GDP) at the end of 2024. Net debt takes account of the assets corresponding to Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP) debt instruments, i.e. currency and deposits, securities other than shares, and loans (Tables 3.1 and 3.4).
At the end of 2024, the value of the State's assets in Equity and Investment Fund Shares (AF.5, Table 3.3) stood at €33.3 billion, representing a year-on-year fall in value of €0.5 billion since Q4 2023. This drop in value was driven by the combination of a reduction in holdings of €2.7 billion (Table 3.2) and an increase in the market value of these holdings of €2.2 billion.
The reduction in holdings of AF.5 assets was in part explained by a net sell-off by the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund of shares held by the State in AIB. Investment in debt securities (AF.3, Table 3.3) rose significantly during 2024 with holdings standing at €27.3 billion at the end of the year. This represented an increase of €21.2 billion since the end of 2023. The majority of these assets are held by the National Treasury Management Agency, which has invested significantly in foreign treasury bills in recent years for the purpose of attracting a more favourable rate of interest on cash reserves. The market value of total liabilities fell by €16.5 billion during 2024 compared with its end 2023 value of €236.0 billion.
This movement in value was composed of a net redemption/repayment of liabilities corresponding to an annual transaction of -€17.6 billion (Table 3.2) together with a combination of upward market price changes and currency effects totalling €1.1 billion. The large negative transaction in liabilities arises mainly as a result of the CJEU court ruling in September 2024.
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