Government debt grew by €5.5bn during the first three months of the year

As of last year, debt servicing costs stood around €3bn. That is expected to grow to €6bn by the early 2030s

The Government has forecasted running deficits over the coming years largely due to continued funding of the two wealth funds - Future Ireland Fund and the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund.

General Government debt increased during the first three months of the year by €5.5bn to €215.4bn with further increases expected over the coming years, the latest data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows.

As of the end of March, general Government debt as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) stood at 37% — an increase of 2.2 percentage points compared to the end of December. However, Ireland’s GDP is skewed by the presence of the numerous multinationals with operations here which inflates the overall number.