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This release has been compiled during the COVID-19 crisis. The results contained in this release reflect some of the economic impacts of the COVID-19 situation. For further information see Background Notes.
Gross general government debt increased by €1.5 billion in the quarter to €236.6 billion. This was accounted for almost entirely by the issuance of debt securities (€660 million short term and €831 million long term). There were offsetting movements in the other debt categories with currency and deposits rising by just under €220 million and loans falling by a slightly larger amount. The debt to GDP ratio stood at 51.4% at the end of the second quarter.
EDP debt instrument assets increased by €5.6 billion in the quarter which, when combined with a €1.5 billion rise in debt liabilities, resulted in net general government debt decreasing by €4.1 billion (Table 3.1). The rise in assets is due almost entirely to an increase in currency and deposits of €5.4 billion.
| Currency & Deposits | Long term loans | Short term loans | Long term debt securities | Short term debt securities | |
| 2020 Q1 | 22.5 | 47.3 | 0.6 | 134.6 | 8.6 |
| 2020 Q2 | 22.9 | 47.3 | 0.5 | 137.7 | 17.4 |
| 2020 Q3 | 23.3 | 46.6 | 0.4 | 141.1 | 15.7 |
| 2020 Q4 | 23.7 | 46.1 | 0.5 | 138.1 | 9.3 |
| 2021 Q1 | 24.3 | 48.2 | 0.8 | 144.9 | 12.1 |
| 2021 Q2 | 24.7 | 48.2 | 0.7 | 151.2 | 9.7 |
| 2021 Q3 | 24.9 | 48.2 | 0.5 | 153.6 | 9.1 |
| 2021 Q4 | 25.1 | 48.5 | 0.4 | 156.4 | 5.7 |
| 2022 Q1 | 25.4 | 48.7 | 0.8 | 153.2 | 7.1 |
| 2022 Q2 | 25.6 | 48.6 | 0.6 | 154.0 | 7.8 |
Figure 3.1 above shows that the composition of general government debt remains relatively stable over time. In Q2 2022 securities accounted for over 68% of the total - long term securities made up 65% of the total and short term securities made up 3%.
The market value of the State's assets in Equity and Investment Fund Shares (AF.5, Table 3.3) fell by €1.6 billion in the quarter to stand at €33.8 billion at the end of Q2 2022. Over this period the fall in value was composed of a reduction in holdings of these assets of €870 million (Table 5), combined with unrealised holding losses of €740 million (Tables 3.2 and 3.3). The reduction in equity holdings during the quarter is largely explained by a combination of the sale of AIB and Bank of Ireland shares, together with the withdrawal by the State of equity held in the Central Bank of Ireland.
Net investment into small savings schemes, predominantly by households, continued during the second quarter of 2022 as the State’s liability from these schemes grew by a further €219 million. The total investment into these savings products over the one year period to Q2 2022 amounted to €950 million (F.2 liabilities, Table 3.2). Investment into such schemes has averaged €340 million per quarter over the period since Q1 2020. This compares to an average per-quarter investment of €71 million in the ten-quarter period preceding the first quarter of 2020.
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