CSO reveals major rise in private debt

New figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) report that private debt increased by more than 42% last year - making it three times the size of the Irish economy.

The figures released yesterday claim that private sector debt now stands at €776.1bn - or just over 300% of the value of the economy - driven by a jump in the debt of non-financial corporations (NFCs).

However, the Irish Independent points out that these figures include the debt of multinationals restructuring their balance sheets.

This means that the numbers are inflated in a similar fashion to the 26% growth rate reported for 2015 - the newspaper dubs it the "return of leprechaun economics".