Gross general government debt decreased by €4.9 billion in the quarter to €215.8 billion. This was accounted for almost entirely by the movement in long term securities, with just over €4 billion of Irish Government bonds redeemed in the quarter. The debt to GDP ratio stood at 42.5% at the end of the quarter.
EDP debt instrument assets decreased by an almost equal amount (€4.8 billion) in the quarter which, when combined with the fall in debt liabilities, resulted in net general government debt decreasing by just €53 million (Tables 3.1 & 3.2). The change in assets is predominantly made up of increases in debt securities of €1.6 billion and a decrease of €6.4 billion in currency and deposits (Tables 3.1 & 3.3).
| Currency & Deposits | Long term loans | Short term loans | Long term debt securities | Short term debt securities | |
| Q1 2022 | 25.4 | 48.8 | 0.8 | 153.2 | 7 |
| Q2 2022 | 25.6 | 48.8 | 0.6 | 154 | 7.7 |
| Q3 2022 | 25.8 | 48.8 | 0.5 | 154.9 | 6.1 |
| Q4 2022 | 25.9 | 48.9 | 0.3 | 148.9 | 0.7 |
| Q1 2023 | 26 | 49 | 0.3 | 146 | 2.3 |
| Q2 2023 | 26.1 | 49 | 0.3 | 146.2 | 1.5 |
| Q3 2023 | 25.9 | 49 | 0.3 | 146.7 | 0.6 |
| Q4 2023 | 25.9 | 47.2 | 0.3 | 146.7 | 0.6 |
| Q1 2024 | 25.8 | 46.4 | 0.3 | 142.7 | 0.6 |
Figure 3.1 above shows that the composition of general government debt remains relatively stable over time. In Q1 2024 securities accounted for over 66% of the total. Long-term securities made up almost the entire total, with short-term securities accounting for less than 1%.
The market value of the State's assets in Equity and Investment Fund Shares (AF.5, Table 3.3) stood at €34.5 billion at the end of Q1 2024, representing a rise of €1.5 billion in the quarter. This increase in value was made up of a combination of the following movements – net acquisitions of these assets of €0.1 billion (F.5, Table 3.2), together with unrealised holding gains of €1.4 billion. The net acquisition of equity assets during the quarter includes a further sell-off of shares held by the State in AIB.
Investment in short-term debt securities (AF.31, Table 3.3) continued to rise with holdings standing at €6.5 billion at the end of the quarter. The majority of these assets are held by the National Treasury Management Agency, which has invested significantly in foreign treasury bills over recent quarters, for the purpose of attracting a more favourable rate of interest on cash reserves.
The market value of total liabilities (AF.L, Table 3.3) fell by €6.1 billion to stand at €229.8 billion at the end of Q1 2024. This change in value was mainly composed of the following combination of movements – net repayment/redemption of liabilities €4.1 billion (F.3, F.4 and F.8, Table 3.2) and holding losses on long-term debt securities (AF.32) of €2.0 billion.
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