diff --git a/haystack/pipelines/base.py b/haystack/pipelines/base.py
index a60206bfb..3e8ff547e 100644
--- a/haystack/pipelines/base.py
+++ b/haystack/pipelines/base.py
@@ -647,7 +647,12 @@ class Pipeline(BasePipeline):
             # Apply debug attributes to the node input params
             # NOTE: global debug attributes will override the value specified
             # in each node's params dictionary.
+            if debug is None and node_input:
+                if node_input.get("params", {}):
+                    debug = params.get("debug", None)  # type: ignore
             if debug is not None:
+                if not node_input.get("params", None):
+                    node_input["params"] = {}
                 if node_id not in node_input["params"].keys():
                     node_input["params"][node_id] = {}
                 node_input["params"][node_id]["debug"] = debug