Retail government bonds in Ireland: how much individuals hold and what is on sale

Short answer: Individuals in Ireland hold EUR 19.4 billion of State Savings products as of 31 December 2025, 8.36% of Gross National Debt. Ireland ranks fourth by this share among the 13 countries for which an official source gives both the amount and the debt. The share was 8.45% at the end of 2023, 8.40% at the end of 2024 and 8.36% at the end of 2025. Of this, Prize Bonds are EUR 4.4 billion (1.90% of the debt). With Post Office Savings Bank deposit accounts, which are not securities, State Savings come to EUR 24.1 billion.

How has it changed?

Share of Gross National Debt, end of year
Date	Amount	Share of debt
31 December 2023	19.8 bn EUR	8.45%
31 December 2024	19.6 bn EUR	8.40%
31 December 2025	19.4 bn EUR	8.36%

Share of Irish Gross National Debt at the end of each year. Source: NTMA annual reports, National Debt Statement; calculation obrotomierz.pl. File: obieg-szereg.csv.

Every figure for Ireland in the dataset

Each row is one figure as published in an official source, with what it covers. Class A is a programme sold only to individuals; class C counts all government securities that households hold, with no retail programme; class X is a broader line or one that includes deposits, so it is never added to the A rows it contains.

Retail government bonds in Ireland: every figure in the dataset
Programme	What it covers	Class	Amount	As of	Share of debt
Ireland State Savings products (in the National Debt)	Savings Certificates 5,706; 10 Year National Solidarity Bonds 5,222; Prize Bonds 4,416; Savings Bonds 2,858; 4 Year National Solidarity Bonds 689; Instalment Savings 526; Savings Stamps 2 (EUR m); excludes Post Office Savings Bank deposits	A	19.4 bn EUR	2025-12-31	8.36%
Prize Bonds		A	4.4 bn EUR	2025-12-31	1.90%
Ireland State Savings incl. POSB deposit accounts	products above plus POSB Deposit Accounts 4,639; deposit accounts are not securities	X	24.1 bn EUR	2025-12-31	not given

Ireland State Savings products (in the National Debt): share of Irish Gross National Debt; valuation: redeemable par, cash basis; excludes 341m accrued interest.
Prize Bonds: share of Irish Gross National Debt; valuation: redeemable par, cash basis; excludes 341m accrued interest.

How Ireland compares

An official source gives the amount of government bonds sold to individuals in 16 countries; for 13 of them it also gives the debt, so we can compute a share. The figures are not fully comparable: each country measures its debt differently, and the class column above says what the amount covers.

Government bonds sold to individuals: latest amount in 16 countries
Country	Amount	As of	Share of debt
Hungary	12,542.1 bn HUF	2026-09-30	18.51%
Portugal	45.4 bn EUR	2026-09-30	14.44%
Poland	194.4 bn PLN	2026-08-31	8.64%
Ireland	19.4 bn EUR	2025-12-31	8.36%
Italy	112.6 bn EUR	2026-09-30	4.16%
Czechia	130.7 bn CZK	2026-09-30	3.53%
Latvia	503 m EUR	2026-09-30	2.20%
Spain	26.0 bn EUR	2026-08-31	1.73%
Austria	5.4 bn EUR	2025-12-31	1.73%
South Africa	21.9 bn ZAR	2025-03-31	0.43%
United States	145.2 bn USD	2026-10-31	0.36%
Belgium	1.6 bn EUR	2026-06-30	0.29%
Canada	under 0.05 bn CAD	2025-03-31	0.00%
United Kingdom	139.6 bn GBP	2026-03-31	not given
Singapore	20.2 bn SGD	2026-11-02	not given
Brazil	279.3 bn BRL	2026-09-30	not given

What is on sale today

Savings Bonds, Savings Certificates, Solidarity Bonds, Instalment Savings (all fixed)
Prize Bonds (prize draw)

Sales: continuously. We checked this on the issuer’s page, statesavings.ie, on 25 October 2026.

Sources

National Treasury Management Agency: NTMA Annual Report and Financial Statements 2025, National Debt Statement and note 11 Ireland State Savings Schemes (read on 7 November 2026)
National Treasury Management Agency: NTMA Annual Report 2024, National Debt Statement and note 11 (read on 7 November 2026)
Issuer’s page for individuals: https://www.statesavings.ie/ (checked on 25 October 2026)

Data and citation

Every number on this page comes from our open dataset on government savings bonds for individuals in 195 countries (CC BY 4.0, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.23638786 for all versions; the citation below gives the DOI of this version). Files for Ireland and the other countries: obieg.csv, obieg-szereg.csv, obieg-zrodla.csv, produkty.csv and marze.csv (column names in Polish, described on the dataset page).

Błażewski, R. (2026). Government savings bonds for individuals in 195 countries (version 2026-11-13) [Data set]. obrotomierz.pl. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.24168443

Frequently asked questions

How much do individuals hold in Ireland’s retail government bonds?

Individuals in Ireland hold EUR 19.4 billion of State Savings products as of 31 December 2025, 8.36% of Gross National Debt. Ireland ranks fourth by this share among the 13 countries for which an official source gives both the amount and the debt. The share was 8.45% at the end of 2023, 8.40% at the end of 2024 and 8.36% at the end of 2025. Of this, Prize Bonds are EUR 4.4 billion (1.90% of the debt). With Post Office Savings Bank deposit accounts, which are not securities, State Savings come to EUR 24.1 billion.

Can individuals buy government bonds directly in Ireland?

Yes. Ireland sells Savings Bonds, Savings Certificates, Solidarity Bonds, Instalment Savings (all fixed) and Prize Bonds (prize draw). Sales: continuously. The issuer’s page is statesavings.ie.

Does Ireland sell inflation-linked savings bonds?

No. Ireland sells no inflation-linked bonds to individuals; its retail products are Savings Bonds, Savings Certificates, Solidarity Bonds, Instalment Savings (all fixed) and Prize Bonds (prize draw).

Other countries

By Rafał Błażewski, obrotomierz.pl. Amounts and debt figures as published in the official sources listed above; shares calculated by us. We show who sells what and do not recommend any product; we earn nothing from government bonds.