Yesterday saw the publication of new figures by the Department of Finance on the state of the national finances. A flurry of figures were released on income and expenditure. The two figures that really stood our for me were in relation to the cost of paying interest on our national debt and Anglo Irish bank.
In 2008 the figure for interest on our national debt was €1.5 billion. In 2009 this figure was €2.5 billion. This just shows the huge need to maintain a tight grip on current and planned government spending. The cost of debt maintenance could just go up and up.
By the end of 2014, the Department of Finance expect €1 of every €5 collected in tax to be absorbed by interest on our debt. We must do all we can to minimise this.
These figures also show the cost of Fianna Fail’s reckless management of our banks. The borrowing requirement of €25 billion includes €4 billion for the recapitalisation of Anglo Irish bank. Shows again the value of the Fine Gael approach of winding up this bank.