Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent)
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204. To ask the Minister for Finance if his Department or any agency under the aegis of his Department operates a ‘barter account’ for the provision of goods or services; if so, if payments have been directed to be made to a barter account during the period 2011 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34147/23]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that neither my Department nor any agency under the aegis of my Department operates a 'barter account' for the provision of goods or services.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I am advised by the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) who manage the National Debt on behalf of the State, that there are different ways of presenting the interest rates on Ireland’s public debt as there are different measures of both debt and interest. There is the National (or Exchequer) Debt and the related debt service cost, but there is also General Government Debt and the related interest measure.

The most up-to-date data available is in respect of the National Debt and that is the focus of the figures presented in this response.

Gross National Debt (GND) is the debt of the Exchequer before the deduction of cash balances and other financial assets. GND stood at €236.9bn at end-June 2023.

The table below shows both the outstanding balances and average interest rates applicable for each of the five main components of GND, as at end-June. At that date, the weighted average interest rate on the entire GND portfolio is estimated to be 1.5%.

Notes:

1.Figures are provisional and unaudited.

2.The EU loans category comprises loans from the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (EFSM), European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) and the SURE programme. The rate on the EFSF facility is an average of the daily pooled rate over the year to end-June 2023. It excludes fees.

3.The rate on State Savings is the estimated blended Annual Equivalent Rate (AER) on fixed rate products and prize bonds as at end-May 2023.

4.Short-term debt comprises Exchequer and Central Treasury Notes, Euro Commercial Paper (ECP) and Borrowing from Ministerial Funds. The rate on ECP is a weighted average, euro equivalent interest rate.