Almost 50% of Irish government debt held in Ireland

The nominal value outstanding of government bonds at June-end remained broadly unchanged from the May figure, standing at €113.2 billion, Central Bank data shows.

Some 11 per cent of this is due to mature in three years or less.

According to the data, almost 50 per cent of long-term Irish government bonds are held by Irish residents, with credit institutions and the Central Bank of Ireland accounting for 91 per cent of these holdings.

The Irish non-bank financial sector held some € 2.7 billion in June. The holders within this sector were predominately other financial intermediaries at €1.1 billion.

When it comes to the duration of bonds, the Central Bank said that approximately 32 per cent of all resident holdings will mature within the next five years, while a further 30 per cent (or €17.7 billion) of long-term bonds held by non-resident investors will mature from 2023 onwards.

This data series was introduced for the first time in February 2014.