The infrastructural needs of the country would be solved if our National Debt was restructured and a loan taken out of the entire amount at a reasonable rate of interest. Billions would be saved on interest repayments yearly and badly needed infrastructure could be provided with a bond taken out to deal with what’s required.
Our National Debt is in the region of 204 billion Euro. We could take out a loan over a 100 year period on the entire amount at 1% interest which is a half a per cent more than the going rate at the moment. Presently we are paying 7.9 billion Euro per year in interest alone and the new loan would mean a huge saving in interest payments alone. The Government could then take out a 20 billion Euro bond to provide the infrastructure that’s needed around the country in terms of schools, roads, hospitals, broadband, water, sewage, and third level institutions to name just some of the requirements. In addition we would save in the region of 3.7 billion per year in interest payments.
With the Brexit negotiations about to start Ireland must be in with far reaching and innovative proposals for the next 20 to 25 years. We cannot be relying on the EU who have served us so poorly in the past to get a good deal on our behalf. The time to start with these proposals is now. With our special position with regard to the Brexit vote there is no reason why the EU and the ECB should not give us the deal and conditions that we are looking for. I raised this plan at the talks for Government formation last year and it is something that I will be continuing to puruse in the coming weeks and months.