Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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152. To ask the Minister for Finance the expected annual cost of servicing the Government debt of €200 billion in 2017 to 2021, in tabular form; the assumptions used in arriving at this expected cost including assumed changes in bond yields; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38187/16]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The most recent projections of the expected annual cost of servicing the government debt  are detailed in table A3, General Government interest expenditure 2015 - 2021 in Annex 2 of the Budget 2017 document published in October of this year. These figures are republished below for the Deputy's convenience.

The forecast interest expenditure figures relate to General Government Debt (GGD). They are point-in-time estimates reflecting the outlook as at end-September 2016.

GGD is a measure of the total gross consolidated debt of the State compiled by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) and is the measure used for comparative purposes across the European Union.

As the issuer of Irish government bonds, the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) constantly monitors and evaluates bond market developments.

The NTMA does not disclose the assumptions regarding bond yields used in projecting interest expenditure as to do so could impact the Agency's ability to raise funds at the most competitive rates possible.