Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 21 July 2016

Public Accounts Committee

2014 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 24 - Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
National Treasury Management Agency Financial Statements 2015

9:00 am

Mr. Conor O'Kelly:

In so far as it needs to be addressed, we are addressing it by engaging in conversation with them and trying to clarify the situation. To a large extent, I do not disagree with what the Deputy said in relation to GDP and GNP in that they have been distorted and are less useful. There is no doubt about that. However, if one looks at the investor pack that we take out on the road – we are constantly on the road – which is available on our website and is updated every month, it probably contains 40 different economic indicators of which debt-to-GDP is one and perhaps GDP makes up three or four of them. These are big decisions that investment managers make and they are looking right under the bonnet and getting in and taking a look around. They are looking at 20 or 30 indicators to make sure that things are what they seem. It is the combination of indicators that will give the overall picture.