Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 12 July 2018

Public Accounts Committee

2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts (Resumed)
Chapter 23: Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency (Resumed)
National Treasury Management Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (Resumed)

9:00 am

Mr. Conor O'Kelly:

We have made our position clear. It is less our position than the position of investors who lend us the money. Our debt is very substantial. Their preference is that the State would, within the right timeframe, sell the shares and use the proceeds to pay down the debt which is still very substantial. We do not have very many opportunities to pay down the actual amount of debt. Our debt is four times what it was in 2007. That is a legacy of the crisis. There are very few opportunities to reduce that debt. Selling any liquid assets such as bank shares is one such opportunity.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.