Gross general government debt increased slightly by €1 billion in the quarter to €207.2 billion. This was accounted for by increases in debt securities and loans. In the quarter, total debt securities increased by €0.79 billion, loan liabilities increased by €0.28 billion while currency and deposits fell by €0.04 billion. The debt to GDP ratio stood at 33.3% at the end of the quarter.
EDP debt instrument assets increased by over €5.5 billion in the quarter which, when combined with the slight increase in debt liabilities, resulted in net general government debt decreasing by €4.5 billion (See Tables 3.1 and 3.2). The change in assets is primarily made up of a substantial increase of nearly €6.7 billion in currency and deposits with decreases in both debt securities and loans of €0.1 billion and €1.1 billion respectively (See Tables 3.1 and 3.3).
| Currency & Deposits | Long term loans | Short term loans | Long term debt securities | Short term debt securities | |
| Q1 2023 | 26 | 47.8 | 0.3 | 146 | 2.3 |
| Q2 2023 | 26.1 | 47.8 | 0.3 | 146.2 | 1.5 |
| Q3 2023 | 25.9 | 47.9 | 0.3 | 146.7 | 0.6 |
| Q4 2023 | 25.9 | 45.6 | 0.3 | 146.7 | 0.6 |
| Q1 2024 | 25.8 | 44.8 | 0.3 | 142.7 | 0.6 |
| Q2 2024 | 25.7 | 45 | 0.3 | 143.7 | 0.5 |
| Q3 2024 | 25.5 | 45 | 0.4 | 144.5 | 0.5 |
| Q4 2024 | 25.4 | 44.9 | 0.2 | 144.3 | 0.5 |
| Q1 2025 | 25.4 | 42.7 | 0.3 | 136.9 | 1 |
| Q2 2025 | 25.3 | 43 | 0.3 | 138.1 | 0.5 |
Figure 3.1 above shows that the composition of general government debt continues to remain relatively stable over time. In Q2 2025 securities accounted for some 67% of the total stock of debt. Long-term securities made up almost the entire total for this instrument, with short-term securities accounting for a little under 0.4%.
The market value of the State's assets in Equity and Investment Fund Shares (AF.5, Table 3.3) stood at €31.4 billion at the end of Q2 2025, representing a fall of €1.75 billion in the quarter. This drop in the value of equity holdings was due to net sales of €1.41 billion (AF.5, Table 3.2), combined with net holding losses on these assets of €0.34 billion. The net sales of equity assets during the quarter includes the sell-off of the remaining shares held by the State in AIB.
Investment in short-term debt security assets (AF.31, Table 3.3) fell by €1.3 billion with holdings standing at €18.4 billion at the end of the quarter. This was largely offset by an increase in the value of holdings of long-term securities of €1.2 billion, resulting in a net reduction in the value of total bond assets of €0.1 billion. These movements are largely explained by the activities of the Future Ireland Fund and the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund.
The market value of total liabilities (AF.L, Table 3.3) rose by €2.2 billion to stand at €206.7 billion at the end of Q2 2025. The change in value over the quarter was mainly composed of the following combination of movements – net incurrence of liabilities of €1.3 billion (Table 3.2) combined with net holding gains, principally on long-term debt securities (AF.32), of €0.9 billion. The net incurrence of liabilities was mainly in debt securities (AF.3) totalling €0.9 billion, and other liabilities. There was a net issuance of Irish Government bonds totalling €1.3 billion during in the quarter. This was largely comprised of additional issuance (€1.25 billion) of a 2.6% bond which is due to mature in 2034.
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