Irish deficit increases to 13.1 percent of GDP

 There was an increase in Ireland’s deficit to more than 13 per cent of GDP last year, because of the recapitalisation of the banks.

Officially the Government hasn’t classified more than 16 billion euro pumped into the banks last summer as debt to count in our official deficit.

But EUROSTAT – the official European statistics agency – says nearly 6 billion of the money MUST be counted as Government debt.

This pushed the deficit to 13.1 per cent  – well outside the Troika target of 10.6 per cent