Currency of Debt

The currency composition of the National Debt at end 2009 was 100 per cent euro.

Currency Composition of Debt at end 2009

Prior to EMU there were periods when a significant amount of the National Debt was denominated in currencies other than Irish Pounds. Reflecting both the scale of Government borrowing and the capacity of the Irish pound bond market at that time, Foreign Borrowing grew in importance from the mid 1970s reaching a maximum of some 48 per cent of total Debt at end-1983, before gradually declining to some 25 per cent by end 1998. Historical National Debt Data is available which shows the trend in the currency composition of the National Debt from 1968 to end 2009.