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Government surplus of over five billion in Q4

Total general government revenue of €37.4 billion in Q4 2023, was €2.3 billion more than Q4 2022, new CSO statistics show.

General government expenditure also increased, reaching €31.7 billion. This was €1.9 billion higher than Q4 2022.

On the revenue side, the main drivers were increased taxes of €1.4 billion, increased investment income of €0.5 billion and social contributions €0.3 billion.

Expenditure was €1.9 billion higher than the same quarter in 2022 mainly due to:

• Growth in compensation of employees of €0.3 billion,
• Intermediate consumption €0.7 billion, 
• Social benefits of €0.4 billion, and 
• Gross fixed capital formation €0.5 billion.

This resulted in a government surplus of €5.7 billion in Q4 2023.

The resulting general government balance was €5.7 billion in Q4 2023, compared with €5.3 billion in Q4 2022.

Gross domestic product

The general government gross debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio was 43.7% at the end of Q4 2023.

Statistician Jason Sibley said the rise was driven by taxes, which increased by €1.4 billion.

The general government gross debt to GDP ratio was 43.7% at the end of Q4 2023, an increase of 0.2 percentage points from the end of Q3 2023. 

The increase in the ratio this quarter was driven by the fall in GDP as the level of debt fell slightly. 

Over that same time frame, the general government net debt to GDP ratio moved from 35.6% to 35.8%, the CSO said.