Irish private sector debt highest in Europe

PRIVATE sector debt in Ireland is the highest of the EU’s 27 member states, according to new European data.

Ireland is also revealed as just one of three countries who failed to set targets for increasing employment and spending on research and development in the EU’s first annual growth survey.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said member states had committed to setting the targets and developing strategies to achieve them and suggested member states “should make them”.