Ireland's strong jobs market has resulted in a 5.4% increase in income tax collected so far this year compared to the first two months of last year.
Exchequer returns published by the Department of Finance show the State collected €5.9 billion in income tax so far this year.
Value Added Tax (VAT), a key measure of consumer spending, was up 3.9% to €4.7 billion in the first two months of this year.
So far this year taxes of €13.6 billion were collected, which represents 10.4% drop on the same period last year.
However, when one-off payments made last year following the Apple tax case are stripped out, tax revenue for the first two months is marginally up by 1.1%.
February is not generally a significant month for corporation tax, which has been driving huge increases in the amount of money collected by the State in recent years.
There was an exchequer deficit of €1.8 billion for the first two months of the year due to payments made by the Government to two long term savings funds.
So far this year there has been spending of €17.5 billion which is 5.2% ahead of last year.
The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council has consistently warned the Government against excessive growth in expenditure.
It said that so far in 2026, current spending is growing by 7%, a faster pace than the 5.8% rate forecast in the Budget.
It added: "Current health spending is up 7.7% this year, compared to a Budget 2026 forecast of 4.8%. Most Departments are seeing spending rise faster than in Budget 2026."
Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers said: "value for money remains a priority" and the Budget placed a "strong emphasis on the importance of delivery, efficiency and reform."
Minister for Finance Simon Harris said: "This is a time of unprecedented global uncertainty".
He added "it is more important than ever that we continue to reinforce our economic resilience by running surpluses, making transfers into the two funds, and keeping public spending under control".
