Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

150. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will provide a breakdown of general government debt in 2013 and 2014; of the national debt profile in the same period for all gross debt incurred by the State if he will provide an itemised list of interest payments made in 2013 and 2014, including future scheduled payments providing amounts, date paid, principal and creditor in each case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25374/14]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) estimates general government debt at end-2013 at €202.9 billion.

A high level breakdown of the composition of end-2013 general government debt is available on page 17 of Ireland's Stability Programme Update (SPU), published by my Department in April and is replicated in the following table.

The 2013 Annual Report and Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) which is due to be published in July will contain a breakdown of National Debt cash interest expenditure payable for 2013. The most recent year for which published numbers are available is 2012 see the following table. 

It is not possible to identify the individual recipients of interest on Government bonds. The Central Bank of Ireland (CBI), which acts as registrar, publishes monthly aggregated holdings which identify types of bond holders. In the case of the floating rate bonds issued in 2013 to replace the IBRC Promissory Note cash interest of just under €0.65 billion was paid to the CBI as the holder of those bonds.

As regards scheduled interest payments, a monthly profile of National debt cash interest expenditure in 2014, consistent with the estimate from the time of Budget 2014, was published by my Department in early March 2014, alongside the end-February Exchequer Returns. The profile is available on my Department's website and it is replicated in the following table for convenience.

Budget 2014 National Debt Cash Interest Profile - cumulative at end

The most significant months in terms of interest expenditure are October, March, April and June and this is primarily due to Government bond coupon payments. Details of bond coupon payment dates are available on the website of the NTMA.