€3.6bn blunder

THE Government revealed that Ireland’s debt is €3.6 billion lower than thought, after an “accounting” error was uncovered.

The blunder occurred after a debt between two state agencies was counted twice.

Loans from the National Treasury Management Agency to the Housing Finance Agency were counted twice, doubling the debt, the Department of Finance said.

However, the reduced actual debt is unlikely to see the Government shy away from further cuts and taxes in next month’s budget.