Debt In The Afternoon

at

Gulp.

Ronan Emmet writes:

Upon first look, one might say that’s a healthy reduction in Debt as % of GDP, but then we remember how the state engages in Leprechaun Economics and our GDP is over inflated, the underlying debt hasn’t been reduced. That isn’t sustainable.

This is the legacy Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, Labour, Greens and the Independent Alliance have left for our unborn generations. But don’t let that stand in the way of the ‘Let’s keep the recovery going’ mantra.

Beside all that – here are some facts should you know about Ireland’s national debt

1. You could wrap $1 bills around the Earth 930 times with the debt amount.

2. If you lay $1 bills on top of each other they would make a pile 26,104 km, or 16,221 miles high.

3. That’s equivalent to 0.07 trips to the Moon!

Irish public debt third highest in the developed world (RTÉ)

Ireland National Debt Clock

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45 thoughts on “Debt In The Afternoon

      1. Cian

        The majority (60%) of that debt was created in 2007-2014 and went into pensions, health and social services.
        20% was there since Charlie Haughey’s day; and 20% went into the banks.

          1. Anne

            “The C&AG said the cost of servicing the debt was €8.7 billion up to the end of 2014 with just under €4 billion of this relating to the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation.”

            Servicing the debt – as of 2014. On top of the 64 billion..

          2. Cian

            In 2017, the national debt was 198.7 billion. okay 200bn (approx.)
            In 2007, the national debt was 42 billion yes – this is ~20% of the debt. Most of this 42 billion has been around since the 1980s

            Bank bailout 64 billion approx. But this includes our shares in AIB and BOI; which is some 11bn (we also got 3.6bn for part of AIB sold earlier). That reduces your 64bn to 50bn – which would be 25% of our debt.

            The other 55% was spent on pensions, health and social services.

    1. Ollie Cromwell

      I would agree but I’m still having a Brother Barnabas-style hissy fit after he changed my silly-poo poos to sillies.
      Harrumph.

  1. Anomanomanom

    National debt in relation to gdp

    Greece180.4%
    Italy133.4%
    Portugal126.4%
    Belgium106.3%
    Spain98.8%
    France97.7%
    Cyprus94.7%
    Euro area86.8%
    United Kingdom85.8%
    EU81.5%
    Austria77.2%
    Croatia76.2%
    Slovenia75.1%
    Hungary73.9%
    Ireland69.3%
    Germany62.9%

    Would it not make sense for European countries to cancel all debt owed to each other, from each other. And maybe actually use the money to try bring European countries that really need help some relief.

    1. b

      no your suggestion wouldn’t make sense. Governments in the whole don’t lend to each other save for in bailouts

      1. Anne

        You’re completely wrong, again.

        https://www.cobdencentre.org/2011/05/how-much-eu-debt-can-be-written-off-through-cross-cancellation/


        The countries can reduce their total debt by 64% through cross cancellation of interlinked debt, taking total debt from 40.47% of GDP to 14.58%
        Six countries – Ireland, Italy, Spain, Britain, France and Germany – can write off more than 50% of their outstanding debt
        Three countries – Ireland, Italy, and Germany – can reduce their obligations such that they owe more than €1bn to only 2 other countries
        Ireland can reduce its debt from almost 130% of GDP to under 20% of GDP
        France can virtually eliminate its debt – reducing it to just 0.06% of GDP

        1. b

          that is such a bullpoo article. it would require banks to be nationalised and write off bank debt against government debt.

          it’s so unworkable it’s only useful as a thought excercise

          1. Cian

            Let’s take an example:
            Irish Life, say, buys €500m of German government debt.
            BVK (a German equivalent) buys €500m of Irish government debt.

            Now you are suggesting the Irish and German governments cancel these debts… but then Irish Life and BVK lose a combined one billion euro.

          2. Anne

            Buy it back.. cancel it out.
            I don’t want to hear your next conundrum about the ins and outs of buying it back thanks. If it wanted to be done, it would be done.

    2. Cian

      This uses the GDP which in Irish terms is, ahem, misleading.

      If we use GNI* (which excludes fake profits, aircraft leasing and IP holdings) then Ireland in 2016 had GNI* of 190bn so a Government Net Debt/GNI* of about 106% – which pushes us up that table.

    1. Andyourpointiswhatexactly?

      If they could do it in multiples of the distance from my gaff to town that’d be awesome.

  2. Joe Small

    Also, latest population estimate is 4.86 million. Every little bit helps!
    The debt to GDP ratio is quite misleading but at least the actual debt figure is heading in the right direction and we have and continue to finance the debt at lower interest rates and we are seen as less and less of a risk.

    1. Ollie Cromwell

      Helped a bit by the half a billion euros in interest payments that Ireland pays Blighty for that generous loan of £3.2 billion when Biffo had trouble filling the ATM’s.
      Well done chaps for paying on time and it’ll soon be over.
      March 2021 to be precise
      By which time the Irish government will have paid another 250 million in interest payments.
      Marvellous stuff.

  3. phil

    Blaming political parties is fine, they deserve it, but If i were to point fingers, its the people who vote for those parties , if the established parties impoverished the ‘wrong’ type of people , that would be the end of them…

    I think its worth remembering not everyone lost after the events of sept 2008 , It would be nice to see an journalist work out who benefited , and what their relationship to the political parties are….

    1. davali

      200 billion of distressed property assets were sold off to vulture funds but 200 billion did not come off the debt
      So where did the 200 billion go
      Where is the moolah?

      1. Cian

        How is this relevant?
        The state owes the National Debt.

        The banks have distressed loans. If a bank sells off a distressed loan to an investment fund – then this doesn’t affect the National Debt

  4. Dermie

    Tommy Tiernan hit the nail in the head when he said find the person we owe the money to and kill the fupper…

    1. davali

      YES but not the volume we the taxpayers were forced to swallow as those who were responsible sailed into the sunset with massive pensions intact and no censure

        1. Brother Barnabas

          oh him… *yawn*

          i don’t think anyone – except maybe that david fellow – wants to hear about him

  5. Ollie Cromwell

    RIP me.
    Apropos of nothing in particular but just musing before I stroll down to my local hostelry and partake of a few sociables.
    Oliver Cromwell saw 3 September as his special day.
    1649 he began the bloody siege of Drogheda
    1650 he routed Scottish Royalists at Dunbar
    1651 he won the last battle of the Civil War at Worcester
    1654 he called his first Parliament as Lord Protector
    1658 he died

    What a great military and political leader.

    Huzzah !

    1. Pat

      Ah Ollie fair play to you.

      For all your huzzahs you couldn’t bring yourself to be glib about the siege of Drogheda. There’s a bit of Irish left in you yet boy. The Lord Protector would have you hanged!

  6. MaryLou's ArmaLite

    As of 2018 our repayments are down to €6bn p.a., considerably less than the €9bn you suggest. Fake news or poor reporting?

    The problem isn’t our debt, it is the fact that we still run a deficit. As soon as the cheap money merry go round comes to a halt we are fupped all over again.

  7. Dekkard

    It is important to note that the major issue is the IMF/EU bailout money. This is stopping the expenditure on capital projects i.e. social/mixed housing, metro/public transport nationally etc etc.

    It’s 44bn and until it’s sorted the EU won’t let up and/or the mainstream political parties won’t change fiscal tack. The vast majority of the debt, 125bn or so is NTMA debt, government bonds, if it was just this we were dealing with, the economy would be not as precarious , debt rolls over 2/5/10 yr periods, money is borrowed at low rates, how the likes of Germany operate.

    We live with the crash and bank bailout legacy not day to day expenditure

    http://www.ntma.ie/business-areas/funding-and-debt-management/debt-profile/

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