Ireland's External Debt Close To 1.56 Trillion Euro

At the end of March, the Ireland's gross external debt amounted to €1,559bn, representing an increase of almost €33bn from the end of the previous quarter and reflects a continuing upward trend in the level of external debt liabilities over the last two years.

It should be noted, however, that much of this external debt is offset by holdings of foreign financial assets by Irish residents.

The liabilities - mostly loans - of monetary financial institutions (i.e. credit institutions and money market funds) amounted to €813bn.

This was almost €28bn up on the end-December stock level and represents 52% of the total debt, a slightly higher share than at end-December.