Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In effect we are borrowing to fund the deficit. We are going to have a very large deficit in 2020, somewhere of the order of the mid-20s in billions. In net terms the addition to our national debt will be less than that because the National Treasury Management Agency, which manages our national debt, holds cash reserves. A significant proportion of that will result in additional debt and the same will hold true for next year.

We are going into this economic crisis with elevated debt levels so we need to be careful. One thing that the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, and I strongly agree on is that we do not want to stand out from the pack. We do not need to be best in class but we certainly do not want to be an outlier on the negative side in terms of our deficit. At this point we only have certainty that the European Central Bank will continue its accommodative policies up to the summer of 2021. At some point, the ECB will change its policy and we will have to work with the markets and demonstrate a pathway to fiscal and debt sustainability. That is broadly our strategy.