Government debt at record level

The Government’s liabilities rose during the fourth quarter of 2011, reaching a record level, new data showed today.

According to the Central Bank's quarterly financial accounts, the State's debt rose by 2 per cent on the previous quarter, reaching €173.3 billion, as the Government received more funding from the EU and IMF under the country's bailout deal.

By the fourth quarter of the year, loans from the EU-IMF programme were €34.2 billion, almost 20 per cent of total liabilities.

In contrast, households continued to reduce debt, with liabilities falling by 1.1 per cent to €184.6 billion, or €41,169 per capita. The figure also marks a 13 per cent decline on the peak level of €212.2 billion reached in the fourth quarter of 2008.

The figures also showed a fall in the net worth of the average household to €457 billion, or €101,962 per capita. That represented a 3.4 per cent fall compared with the preceding quarter, and a 36.9 per cent drop from the peak in the second quarter of 2007.

The crash in property prices has been largely blamed for the reduction in household net worth over the past few years.

The total domestic sector was a net borrower during the final quarter of 2011, although at a lower level than previously. That was partly due to a reduced Government deficit for the quarter, and was also partly influenced by net lending by households.