State’s funding agency had raised €7 billion of previous full-year target of €10 billion to €14 billionFrank O'Connor, chief executive of the National Treasury Management Agency. Photograph: Dara Mac Donaill / The Irish TimesThe National Treasury Management Agency has decided not to carry out any further bond sales this year, as the Government is set to record a budget surplus and as borrowing costs in financial markets have jumped in recent months.
The State’s funding and debt management agency had originally planned to issue between €10 billion and €14 billion of bonds this year, following on from a Department of Finance forecast this time last year that the there would be a budget deficit of €7.7 billion this year. The NTMA had issued €7 billion of bonds as of earlier this month.
However, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said on Tuesday, as he unveiled Budget 2023, that there would now be a general government surplus of €1 billion this year, driven by much higher than-expected corporate taxes. He predicted that the surplus would rise to €6.2 billion next year, even after unveiling a €11 billion giveaway budget to help households and businesses deal with the cost-of-living crisis.
NTMA chief executive Frank O’Connor said that the decision to step away from the debt markets for the remainder of the year also reflected the agency’s strong funding position, with €20 billion of cash balances.