Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will answer the last question first. It will have an effect on our net debt because it is an asset that we have and it is funding that is held by the State. Financial markets look at the solvency of the State and that fact will reduce our net indebtedness position.

Our national debt will be bond-financed more and more and, at a point in the future, will be exclusively bond-financed. I will check but I imagine that, following the early repayment of the IMF programme, we are already almost exclusively bond-financed. The progress that has been made by the NTMA in issuing longer-term debt will insulate us, to a degree, from changes that happen in the future. As the Deputy said, it is a massive constraint for the country to have a national debt of €202 billion and, over time, we have to get the figure down by running surpluses and being careful about one-off gains.

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