Government focuses on borrowing during first eight months

The government said it borrowed some €100 million more than originally targeted in the first eight months of the year because it wanted to take advantage of prevailing market rates and conditions.

The Finance Ministry said in the first eight months the country borrowed nearly all the amount it had to fork out in stocks this year because market conditions were advantageous.

Reacting to Labour finance spokesman Charles Mangion, who criticised the excessive borrowing, the ministry said the Labour Party could not understand how a government administered public funds.

The country got most of its income, particularly from income tax, at the end of the year, meaning there would be less need for it to borrow more money, the ministry said.

According to the latest financial data published by the National Statistics Office in July, public sector borrowing stood at €4.1 billion, an increase of €252.3 million over the same month last year.

The interest component of public debt servicing edged up to €116.7 million from €116.3 million a year earlier.