Back to Top

 Skip navigation

Press Statement

Preasráiteas

21 April 2022

Government Finance Statistics - April 2022 Results – Annual Results 2016 - 2021

Government deficit of €8.1 billion in 2021
  • General government deficit for 2021 of €8.1 billion (1.9% GDP), an improvement on the 2020 deficit of €19.1 billion
  • In 2021 revenue increased by €14.3 billion (17.3%) while expenditure increased by €3.3 billion (3.2%) resulting in an improvement of €11.0 billion over the 2020 deficit
  • Expenditure on COVID-19 measures for 2021 amounted to €14.7 billion, €2.3 billion less than in 2020
  • Government debt ratio decreased to 56.0% of GDP in 2021
  • General government gross debt (GG Debt) stood at €235.9 billion at the end of 2021 (56.0% of GDP) compared with the 2020 figure of €217.9 billion (58.4% of GDP)

Go to release: Government Finance Statistics - Annual 2016 to 2021 (April 2022 Results)

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (21 April 2022) released Government Finance Statistics - April 2022 Results – Annual Results.

Commenting on the release, Tom Fitzgerald, Statistician, said: “The deficit of €8.1 billion for 2021 is an €11.0bn improvement compared with the deficit of €19.1bn in 2020 and is largely driven by increased tax revenue. General government revenue was €97bn in 2021, up 17.3% on 2020, surpassing pre-pandemic levels. The main driver behind this upturn was a €13.6 billion rise in taxes, with a strong increase across most categories of taxation. Expenditure in 2021 stood at €105.1bn, up €3.3bn (3.2%) from 2020.”

This release includes a breakdown of the additional direct costs associated with the range of COVID-19 measures introduced by the Government since March 2020. In relation to these measures, Tom Fitzgerald stated:

The updated estimate of the impact of the pandemic on government expenditure shows a reduction of €2.3bn in additional direct costs associated with the range of COVID-19 measures in 2021 compared with 2020.

General government gross debt (the level of government borrowing) rose by €18.0bn to €235.9bn. However, the debt to GDP ratio remained below the Stability and Growth Pact threshold of 60% due to the performance of GDP in the year."

Editor's Note:

Government accounts are compiled in the EU according to the European System of National Accounts 2010 (ESA2010) framework.

This release contains the detailed tables as referenced in the provisional release published on 11 April 2022 and are aligned with the April 2022 Excessive Deficit Procedure notification.

For further information contact:

Tom Fitzgerald (+353) 1 498 4297 or Derek Stynes (+353) 1 498 4303

or email tom.fitzgerald@cso.ie

or email derek.stynes@cso.ie

-- ENDS --