The national debt increased from €4.9 billion in 2012 to €5.4 billion in 2014. This means that over a space of two years under Labour, the national debt shot up by half a billion Euros or 10%, the Nationalist Party said in a statement today.

In percentages terms between 2011 and 2012, the last full year of the Nationalist administration, national debt increased by 1.3%. Between 2013 and 2014, the first full year of the Labour administration, national debt increased by 3.4%, the statement, signed by deputy leader and shaow minister for finance Mario de Marco, said. 

This increase in debt was not being generated by a corresponding investment in the country's infrastructure. It is mainly being driven by increase in the government's recurrent expenditure.  The cost of the public sector pay roll, for instance, is set to increase by €127 million over a two year period. This is due to government’s decision to increase the public sector headcount by more than 4,500 people. The expenditure of public sector entities has likewise shot up without any noticeable difference in the services offered or the level of service offered to the public. A clear example of this is the subsidy for public transport which more trebled without a tangible improvement in the service offered to the commuters.

A number of questionable decisions taken by government, such as the decision to bail out the operators of Cafe’ Premier and the payment meted out to Mark Gaffarena, are helping push up government’s expenditure and therefore the national debt 

The government seems reassured by the fact that the debt to GDP is improving. The Opposition, while recognising that this ratio has its merits, calls on government to consider the wider picture, particularly the fact that in absolute terms, national debt has continued to increase. This despite the fact that Labour, when in Opposition, promised the very contrary.