Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 7 October 2021

Public Accounts Committee

2020 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General - Chapters 15 and 16
2019 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General - Chapter 16
National Treasury Management Agency - Financial Statements 2020

9:30 am

Mr. Conor O'Kelly:

That is a great question. Over the next three or four years, we will still have debt maturing that was issued ten years or so ago. There are still some high coupons on that debt with rates of 3%, 4% or even 5% in some cases. When we get into the latter part of the decade, the bonds we have issued over the last six or seven years will be maturing. These will, of course, have very low coupons. We have been able to lower the bill over the last period by retiring high-coupon debt at 5% and issuing at close to 0%. That will become harder and harder to do. We will have coupons at rates of 1% maturing and the savings will obviously not be as great.