We pay about €16.5 million per day in interest costs just to service our national debt.
That's according to the National Treasury Management Agency which manages our borrowings as a nation.
The agency describes our debt level as high by international standards.
Our debt is 2.7 times Government revenue; the average in Europe is 1.9 times.
It says investors no longer consider our debt to GDP measure as the key indicator.
They place more emphasis on our absolute debt, among other measures.
Although the debt to GDP ratio has fallen from 120% to 72% - as a consequence of high growth and the impact of multinationals on our GDP numbers - our actual debt level stands at over €200 billion.
The NTMA chief executive, Conor O'Kelly, said our high debt level was a permanent legacy of the crisis.
He added that investors see our shareholdings across the banking sector as an opportunity to pay down our debt in a meaningful way.
While ultimately the decision is one for Government, there are benefits to doing that sooner rather than later, he said.
