The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) said it will seek to raise as much €14 billion on the international bond markets next year, as it grapples with a spike in debt set to mature in 2026.
The NTMA plans to issue between €10 billion and €14 billion in debt for the year ahead, the agency said in a statement. That compares to a range of €6 billion to €10 billion originally planned for 2025. The debt office ultimately raised about €8.25 billion.
“The €10 billion to €14 billion bond funding range we are announcing today for 2026 reflects the €15 billion in debt maturities next year," NTMA director of funding and debt management Dave McEvoy said. ”The strong exchequer funding position means we are well positioned entering 2026”.
The NTMA will issue its bond auction schedule at the start of each quarter, and will stick to its recent strategy of not selling shorter term Treasury Bills.
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It also intends to conduct at least one syndicated bond sale during the year. The agency has traditionally run such a sale in January. In recent years the timing of such a deal has moved back from the start of the month towards the middle of January.
An NTMA spokesman declined to comment on the prospects for a syndicated sale next month.
Next year’s bond sales will come against a backdrop of growing concerns about the sustainability of the State’s tax receipts, with corporation tax in particular under the spotlight given a handful of big multinationals account for such a huge proportion of that tax.
Still, the Government collected a record monthly figure of €10 billion in corporation tax in November, amid a likely surge in payments from the tech and pharma sectors.
The State is “well positioned against the backdrop of uncertain markets” even though the Ireland still has debt of more than €200 billion and there is no place for complacency, NTMA chief executive Frank O’Connor said in July.
“There is a strong market awareness of the buffers we have in place through our funding and debt management strategy,” said Mr O’Connor at the time. “The strength of our public finances coupled with the long weighted average maturity of our debt, means we expect to have relatively low borrowing requirements in the short to medium term.”
