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Ireland sees continued improvements in budget deficit, national debt

Xinhua, April 11, 2017 Adjust font size:

There were continued improvements in Ireland's budget deficit and level of national debt last year, according to official data released on Tuesday.

The data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) showed the headline deficit was 0.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and that the debt to GDP ratio was 75.4 percent in 2016.

In 2016, the budget deficit was 1.36 billion euros, down from the 2015 deficit of 5 billion euros, the CSO said, adding that the national debt stood at 200.6 billion euros in 2016, down from the 2015 figure of 201.3 billion euros.

"We will have close to a balanced budget in nominal terms in 2017 and will achieve the medium-term budgetary objective of a balanced budget in structural terms by 2018," Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan said.

"Our debt to GDP level now stands at 75 percent and is down from a peak of 120 percent," he said. "Our target under the EU rules is 60 percent but we intend going to 45 percent by the mid-2020s." Endit