of gni * during the pandemic, the debt ratio is estimated to have declined to 82. 6 per cent last year and is projected to stand at 65 per cent by 2025. despite the increase in sovereign borrowing rates over the past year, debt dynamics are expected to remain favourable, supported by robust nominal medium - term growth and growing primary surpluses. from a funding perspective, the value of bonds maturing between now and 2025 is relatively low, and the current market rates for refinancing this debt remain below the rates at which those bonds were originally issued. coupled with the large cash balances held by the national treasury management agency ( ntma ), this gives the state some additional flexibility from a funding perspective over the short - to - medium term. medium - term challenges for the public finances domestic policy has a significant role to play in how the economy adjusts to the shock presented by the war in ukraine. fiscal support has been necessary to protect those most vulnerable in our society from the energy price shock. from the perspective of macroeconomic management, it is important that fiscal supports are targeted, temporary and tailored to preserving incentives to consume less energy. ensuring the temporary policy measures that support demand conditions are unwound in a timely fashion will reduce the potential of adding to medium - term inflationary pressures and creating a longer - term vulnerability in the public finances. more broadly, the portion of corporation tax receipts that does not appear to reflect domestic economic activity and stems from a relatively small number of firms continues to grow to an estimated €10bn per annum. 2 such revenues are subject to sudden change – for example due to potential shocks stemming from the evolving framework for global corporation tax or any re - adjustment of multi - national enterprise value chains – highlighting the risks of them forming part of permanent expenditure. 3 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches in this regard, the transfer of €6bn to the national reserve fund since budget 2023 is a welcome development, and these resources provide the capacity to respond to future adverse shocks. in that context, as we approach the legislated asset ceiling of €8bn, different options should be considered around the evolution of the fund in the future, both in terms of its size as well as its use. addressing infrastructure constraints that limit sustainable growth, while further supporting a transition to a more resilient economy remains important. the public finances face increasing demands in this respect, most immediately in terms of addressing the infrastructure shortfall in housing

, while the costs associated with the transition to net zero and the ageing of the population also need to be addressed. funding core capital and current government expenditure from own resources, without recourse to additional debt funding, is more likely to reduce short and medium - term inflationary pressures. 3 at the same time, appropriately using public finances and wider economic policy to enable sustainable private investment is essential if the challenges of housing, climate change, and population ageing are to be addressed fully. going forward, policy actions and frameworks that support sustainable growth in living standards over the longer term, especially in light of the risks and challenges i have just mentioned, remain crucial. the recent commission on taxation and welfare and the progress on agreeing reforms to the eu economic governance framework are noteworthy in this regard. the commission's report sets out the need to adopt a net revenue - raising strategy over an appropriate timeframe through broadening the tax base to address fiscal sustainability challenges. alongside this, maintaining credible and meaningful benchmarks in eu and domestic frameworks to anchor fiscal policy is important, and an expenditure - based rule has benefits, especially when linked to the nominal trend growth rate of the economy. concluding remarks to conclude, the economy has proven resilient through a period of heightened uncertainty, in part reflecting the capacity for the public finances to operate in a countercyclical manner and provide support to households and firms in response to external shocks. to retain such capacity against future adverse shocks and to ensure sustainability, both now and into the future, careful management of the public finances in light of known and emerging priorities and challenges remains necessary. 1 monetary policy statement, march 2023. 2 excluding such receipts, the ggb would have been in deficit to the equivalent of 1 per cent of gni * last year. 3 see hickey, lozej and smyth ( 2020 ). 4 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches