Gross general government debt increased by just over €1 billion in the quarter to €216.9 billion. This was accounted for almost entirely by the movement in long term securities, with a net €967 million of Irish Government bonds issued in the quarter. The debt to GDP ratio stood at 42.8% at the end of the quarter.
EDP debt instrument assets grew by €7.8 billion in the quarter which, when combined with the rise in debt liabilities, resulted in net general government debt decreasing by €6.7 billion (Tables 3.1 & 3.2). The change in assets is almost entirely made up of increases of €7.7 billion in currency and deposits (Tables 3.1 & 3.3).
| Currency & Deposits | Long term loans | Short term loans | Long term debt securities | Short term debt securities | |
| Q1 2022 | 25.4 | 48.8 | 0.8 | 153.2 | 7.0 |
| Q2 2022 | 25.6 | 48.8 | 0.6 | 154.0 | 7.7 |
| Q3 2022 | 25.8 | 48.8 | 0.5 | 154.9 | 6.1 |
| Q4 2022 | 25.9 | 49.0 | 0.3 | 148.9 | 0.7 |
| Q1 2023 | 26.0 | 49.0 | 0.4 | 146.0 | 2.3 |
| Q2 2023 | 26.1 | 49.0 | 0.3 | 146.2 | 1.5 |
| Q3 2023 | 25.9 | 49.1 | 0.3 | 146.7 | 0.6 |
| Q4 2023 | 25.9 | 47.2 | 0.3 | 146.7 | 0.6 |
| Q1 2024 | 25.8 | 46.4 | 0.3 | 142.7 | 0.6 |
| Q2 2024 | 25.7 | 46.8 | 0.3 | 143.7 | 0.5 |
Figure 3.1 above shows that the composition of general government debt remains relatively stable over time. In Q2 2024 securities accounted for over 66% of the total. Long-term securities made up almost the entire total, with short-term securities accounting for less than 1%.
The market value of the State's assets in Equity and Investment Fund Shares (AF.5, Table 3.3) stood at €33.6 billion at the end of Q2 2024, representing a fall of €2.3 billion in the quarter. This drop in the value of equity holdings was due to net disposals of these assets of €2.3 billion (AF.5, Table 3.2), while market value fluctuations over the quarter were largely flat. The net sales of equity assets during the quarter includes a further sell-off of shares held by the State in AIB.
Investment in short-term debt securities (AF.31, Table 3.3) fell slightly by €193 million with holdings standing at €6.3 billion at the end of the quarter. The majority of these assets are held by the National Treasury Management Agency, which has invested significantly in foreign treasury bills over recent quarters, for the purpose of attracting a more favourable rate of interest on cash reserves.
The market value of total liabilities (AF.L, Table 3.3) fell by €551 million to stand at €229.7 billion at the end of Q2 2024. This change in value was mainly composed of the following combination of movements – net incurrence of debt and other liabilities of €1.0 billion (AF.3, AF.4 and AF.8, Table 3.2) and net holding losses, principally on long-term debt securities (AF.32), of €1.5 billion.
Learn about our data and confidentiality safeguards, and the steps we take to produce statistics that can be trusted by all.