Ireland's external debt at €1.69tn

Ireland's external debt rose from €1.65 trillion to €1

Ireland's external debt rose from €1.65 trillion to €1.69 trillion for the 12 months to the end of June, but declined €7 billion compared to the preceding quarter, according to new Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures published today.

The latest figures indicate that the liabilities of financial institutions, which cover 43 per cent of total debt, amounted to almost €691billion, a drop of nearly €27 billion on the preceding quarter and down €117 billion compared to the same period a year earlier.

Liabilities from other sectors rose by €28 billion during the first quarter of 2009 to €624 billion. The bulk of the increase was attributed to new data included in the Balance of Payments revisions for 2007 and 2008 which were also published today.

The level of general government foreign borrowing increased by €10 billion to €72 billion between March and June this year and was up €29billion compared to the same period a year earlier.

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Taking into account the updated statistics, direct investment debt liabilities stood at €198 billion at the end of March.

Charlie Taylor

Charlie Taylor

Charlie Taylor is a former Irish Times business journalist