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Tax breaks for banks must end after a report shows Ireland is the most indebted EU nation, Sinn Fein has claimed.

The call came after the Department of Finance revealed national debt has broken the €206billion mark and is so high every man, woman and child here owes €42,500 – among the highest in the developed world.

Sinn Fein’s finance spokesman Pearse Doherty said the tax break given to the banks by Fine Gael and Labour must be reversed.

He added: “Yesterday’s annual report on the public debt is another reminder of the direct cost of bailing out the banking sector, which some have estimated cost the taxpayer upwards of €50billion between 2007 and 2014 alone.

(Image: Liam McBurney/PA Wire)

He added: “Yesterday’s annual report on the public debt is another reminder of the direct cost of bailing out the banking sector, which some have estimated cost the taxpayer upwards of €50billion between 2007 and 2014 alone.

“Despite this, Fine Gael and Labour’s decision in 2014 to allow bailed-out banks to use 100% of loss incurred in previous years to be offset against future profits, has ensured AIB, Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB have contributed little to reducing the debt they helped create.”

There are now growing fears that a hard Brexit would make the debt situation even worse as the Government would be forced to borrow billions more to deal with the fallout.

The agriculture sector could be worse hit IN a no deal Brexit with cross-border trade being brought almost to a standstill.

The BBC reported farmers in the North could be forced to slaughter up to 40,000 dairy cows as there would be no market for their milk which is mostly processed south of the border.

Mr Doherty said: “The risks of a no-deal Brexit make the running of budget surpluses impossible in the short-term.”