State borrowed €70m a day last year

THE level of Ireland’s national debt shot up by more than €70 million a day last year as the Government borrowed more to keep up with day-to-day spending.

The cost of plugging the widening gap in the Exchequer cost the state some €25.8 billion extra in debt by the end of the year.

The figures from the annual report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) reveal that the general government debt had reached a massive €104.6bn by the end of the year. This was an increase on the 2008 debt of €79.8bn.