The domestic ownership of Irish government bonds rose from 28% at end 2012 to 48% in June 2014 and the biggest factor was the Central Bank's 2013 deal on the promissory note debt of ex-Anglo Irish Bank (renamed IBRC) --  see NTMA profile here - - the 2013 IBRC Promissory Note repayment (non-cash settlement) resulted in €25bn of long-dated Government bonds being issued to the Central Bank of Ireland on liquidation of IBRC.

The Central Bank said today that outstanding government bonds stood at €113.21bn in June 2014, with 11% due to mature in less than three years. At end-June 2014, resident holders held 47.7%  of long-term Irish government bonds. resident credit institutions and the Central Bank of Ireland, account for 91% of resident holdings.

At the end of 1999, over 70% of Irish bonds were held by domestic investors with the balance in the hands of overseas investors. At end 2011 78% of Ireland’s MLT securities were held overseas according to the NTMA - the debt agency.

The resident non-bank financial sector reported holdings of €2.76bn in June 2014. The holders within this sector were predominately other financial intermediaries at €1.13bn (Chart 1).

32% of outstanding Government bonds will mature within the next 5 years. 27% of resident holders fall under this maturity category, while the equivalent ratio for non-resident holders is higher at 37%. Furthermore, 30% (or €17.7bn) of long-term bonds held by non-resident investors will mature from 2023 onwards (Chart 2).

Detailed tables and the explanatory notes can be found on the Central Bank of Ireland’s website here [Excel].