New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that total Government revenue rose to €28.8 billion in the first quarter of 2024, €1.3 billion higher than the same time last year.
The CSO said the increase came on the back of higher taxes and social contributions, which increased by €1.2 billion in the quarter.
Today's figures also show that total Government expenditure rose to €28.3 billion in the first three months of the year, €1.4 billion higher than the same time in 2023. The increase was across a range of items including pay, social benefits and gross fixed capital formation.
This resulted in a Government surplus of €0.5 billion in the first quarter of 2024, lower than the surplus of €0.7 billion in the first quarter of 2023.
Meanwhile, the general Government gross debt fell by nearly €5 billion in the quarter.
The CSO said the debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio was 42.5% at the end of the first quarter, down 0.8 percentage points from the fourth quarter of 2023.
The decrease in the ratio this quarter was driven entirely by the fall in the level of debt, as GDP fell by over €2 billion in the quarter, the CSO added.
