Cowen is banking on borrowing to balance the books

The Government coffers are in the red for the first time in a decade and Brian Cowen yesterday became the first finance minister since Labour’s Ruairí Quinn to borrow to balance the books. Conor Ryan asks how we borrow and what it costs.

What is the National Debt and how much can be borrow?

At the end of September the National Treasury Management Agency put our debt at €39 billion. It is the highest it has been since 2000 and demands about €2bn a year in interest payments. Yesterday, Finance Minister Brian Cowen said this will grow by €1.8bn to cover a deficit of 0.9%.In theory, countries can borrow as much as others will lend them. In America the debt is measured in trillions and grows at a rate of US$1.5bn a day.