The Government is expected to run a surplus in the public finances of €10 billion this year, while its forecast for next year is for a surplus of €16.2 billion.
Meanwhile, the Stability Programme Update (SPU), a key budgetary document published this afternoon, has revised upwards forecasts for growth in the economy and the outlook for the public finances.
It predicts the economy measured by Modified Domestic Demand, which strips out the effect of multinationals, is expected to grow by 2.1% this year and 2.5% next year.
Inflation is expected to average at 4.9%. Core inflation, which excludes energy and unprocessed food, is expected to be 4.4%.
Inflation is expected to drop to 2.5% next year but core inflation is expected to rise to 3.2%.
Higher corporation tax receipts are expected to contribute to a budget surplus of €10 billion this year and €16.2 billion next year.
If windfall amounts of corporation tax were excluded, the Department of Finance says there would be a deficit of €1.8 billion this year and an underlying surplus of €4.4 billion next year.
Earlier, the CSO revised upwards its estimate for the Government's surplus last year to €8 billion - largely based on technical advice from Eurostat.
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At Budget time, the Department of Finance predicted the surplus could be just under €1 billion for last year.
When exchequer figures were published at the start of this year, that was revised upwards to just over €5 billion.
Today's numbers follow a change in how the €2.7 billion allocated for the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant scheme is accounted.
RTÉ News understands that late advice by the EU's statistical agency Eurostat to account for this as it is spent resulted in this release being delayed yesterday.
The scheme had been counted in its entirety in the government accounts for 2022, but Eurostat advised that it should only be counted as it is spent.
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Today's release also shows that gross government debt fell last year from €236.1 billion in 2021 to €224.8 billion in 2022.
As a proportion of GDP, the ratio of government debt fell from 55.4% of GDP in 2021 to 44.7% of GDP in 2022.
The €8 billion surplus figure for 2022 is 1.6% of GDP compared to a deficit of €6.8 billion, also 1.6% GDP, in 2021.
This represents a massive turnaround in the public finances of €14.8 billion last year. Revenue increased by €16.6 billion, 16.8%, while expenditure rose by €1.8 billion, or 1.7%.
Commenting on today's Stability update, Finance Minister Michael McGrath said the projected surplus of €10 billion for this year is based on the assumption of tax revenue amounting to almost €89 billion, a growth rate of almost 7%.
"While this is, of course, very much welcome, the headline surplus this year is heavily dependent on volatile 'windfall' corporate tax receipts," the Minister said.
"Excluding the impact of these receipts, estimated at almost €12 billion this year, an underlying deficit of €1.8 billion is projected for this year. This is a better metric for assessing the resilience of our public finances," he added.
The Minister also said that despite multi-decade high inflation rates and heightened global uncertainty, the Irish economy has proven remarkably resilient, most notably in the labour market where the unemployment rate is at a near-record low.
"At the same time the mobilisation of government supports helped mitigate, to some extent, the impacts of inflationary pressures on households and businesses over the winter months," he added.
He said that energy prices now easing, it appears as though inflation, absent any further energy price shock, is on a downward trajectory, though it will remain elevated throughout this year.
The Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform Paschal Donohoe said that supports put in place by Government have allowed the economy and society to remain resilient to the challenges it has faced over the last past three years.
"Over €40 billion has been provided since 2020 to support our households, businesses and public services with the challenges posed by Covid-19, Brexit, the war in Ukraine and the recent increases in the cost of living," he said.
"These supports have ensured our economy has returned to strength, with unemployment now forecast at 4.4% for 2023, the lowest annual average rate since 2001," he added.
