Public finances
Is the government in surplus or deficit, how large is the debt, where revenue and spending come from, and where Ireland sits on the EU Treaty measures. Accounts, official GDP ratios, GNI* ratios, and cash receipts are different measurements and may carry different release dates.
Is the government in surplus or deficit?
2025 balance
€10.7 billion
Released 20 October 2026.
Balance, % of GDP
1.8%
Official published ratio.
Balance, % of GNI*
3.2%
Calculated. Balance released 20 October 2026. Modified GNI* released 2 July 2026.
Revenue
€145 billion
Expenditure
€134 billion
General government revenue, expenditure and balance
Ireland·2025·EUR million
In 2025 the published general government balance was €10.7 billion (1.8% of GDP).
Data notes & limitations
Note: CSO describes a one-off capital transfer of about €14.2 billion in 2024 revenue. The surplus shown here is the published balance. It is not redrawn with that receipt removed.
Published general government surplus or deficit (B.9). Not revenue minus expenditure.
The 5 October 2026 HTML provisional is not this series until the same figure is in the cube.
Economic categories that reconcile to total expenditure. Not a split by health, education or housing.
Official published balance as a percentage of GDP. Not recalculated from a later GDP release.
How large is the debt?
Gross debt
€210 billion
Released 20 October 2026.
Net debt
€138 billion
Euro stock only. Net debt has no ratio panel.
Gross debt, % of GDP
34.85%
Official published ratio. The 60% line is a Treaty reference on a GDP basis.
Gross debt, % of GNI*
62.9%
Calculated. Gross debt released 20 October 2026. Modified GNI* released 2 July 2026.
Gross and net general government debt
Ireland·2025·EUR million
At the end of 2025, gross debt was €210 billion and net debt was €138 billion.
Where does the revenue come from?
Parts of total taxes
Ireland·2025·EUR million
In 2025, corporation tax was 29.5% of total taxes.
Calculation notes
These parts make up total taxes. Social contributions are outside that total and outside the corporation-tax share. Income tax and corporation tax are not stacked on top of the broader income-tax group or on total taxes.
Data notes & limitations
Parts of total taxes. Social contributions are outside that total. Corporation tax's share uses total taxes, not taxes plus social contributions.
What does government spending pay for?
What does government spending pay for?
Ireland·2025·EUR million
In 2025 these economic categories reconcile to total expenditure within €1 million, the rounding step of the accounts.
Calculation notes
These are economic categories in the government accounts, not a split by health, education or housing. Depreciation and net investment stay in the chart so the parts can reconcile to total expenditure.
Data notes & limitations
Economic categories that reconcile to total expenditure. Not a split by health, education or housing.
Where does Ireland sit in the EU?
One year for every country on each chart. Eurostat for every member, including Ireland. A country missing that year is left out.
General government balance, % of GDP
EU member states·2025·% of GDP
2025, 27 of 27 member states. Largest surplus to largest deficit.
Treaty reference value of −3% of GDP. 2025, 27 of 27 member states.
Calculation notes
Treaty reference value of −3% of GDP. Ireland’s bar is the Eurostat figure.
Data notes & limitations
Eurostat general government balance as a percentage of GDP, one common year. Ireland's bar is the Eurostat value, not the CSO headline.
Methodology
General government figures follow ESA 2010 and come from the CSO government finance cubes. The balance is the published surplus or deficit, not revenue minus expenditure. A gap of €1 million is the rounding step of those accounts.
Balance and gross debt as a percentage of GDP are the official published ratios. They are not recalculated from a later national-accounts release. Modified GNI* ratios are calculated only for years that have both inputs and no official ratio. Each calculated figure keeps both release dates.
Exchequer tax is cash into the Central Fund for that month. It is not the general-government tax total. The EU charts use Eurostat for every country in the chosen year, including Ireland.
More measures
State-level public finance series for chart compare. EU member comparisons stay on the charts above.
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Place
Ireland (State)
Official values can be revised by source agencies; Dashboard mapping and calculation fixes are documented under revisions and corrections.
Primary measure
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