The financial crisis has led Governments to intervene in a number of ways to support and stabilise the banking system. The recording of these interventions can be quite complex in statistical terms, as Government accounting rules set down for the purposes of the Growth and Stability Pact need to be applied consistently and transparently across EU member states. Our paper firstly focuses on the Government interventions in the case of Ireland. Since 2008 the Irish Government has had to intervene significantly in the banking sector and this has had a substantial impact on Irish debt and deficit. In addition, the sovereign debt crisis has increased analysts' requirements for detailed information on the impact of these interventions in the banking sector on Government debt and deficit and has increased the need for higher frequency government statistics. Our paper examines the extent to which current Government statistical reporting meets these requirements.

Keywords: Irish Government debt and deficit; Government interventions in banking sector; Sovereign debt crisis

Biography: Mary is an Economist in the Statistics Division of the Central Bank of Ireland where she works on quarterly financial accounts and government finance statistics.