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Introduction

This release comprises the latest official publication by CSO of annual Government Finance Statistics (GFS) results for years 2016 to 2021. 

The data published are consistent with the General Government Deficit and Debt levels reported at end-September 2022 under the EU regulation governing the Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP). Consequently they may not always be fully aligned with the National Income and Expenditure and related publications such as the Institutional Sector Accounts.

Eurostat will publish deficit and debt levels for all EU member states on 21 October 2022.

The tables provide detailed revenue, expenditure and balance sheet data for general government. These data are also available on CSO PxStat.

The full suite of GFS tables is also available on the CSO website.

Data for all EU Member States are available on Eurostat's database.

Updates to general government surplus/deficit 

D.1 Salaries 

Data has been revised based on the updated register of Government bodies, updated sick pay and updated imputed contributions data.

P.51c Depreciation

Revisions have been made in line with the Annual National Accounts (ANA) published on 15 July 2022.

D.632 Social benefits in kind (via market producers) / D.62 Social benefits in cash

The tuition fee and student contribution component of SUSI student grants, paid to universities since 2012, has been reclassified to D.632 (social transfers in kind – market production purchased by general government and NPISH) from D.62 (social benefits other than social transfers in kind).

D.3 Subsidies / P.2 Use of goods and services

Revisions to D.3 in 2021 are related to corrected data for third level education subsidies and the P.S.O. levy. This has resulted in an offsetting movement to P.2.

Transactions of note 2021

COVID-19 

In addition to the direct expenditure measures included in Table A, other measures had an implicit impact on the GFS aggregates:

The waiving of commercial rates for businesses impacted as a result of the public health restrictions continued in 2021. D.29 tax revenue is therefore lower than otherwise. The cost to local authorities is met by the Exchequer, resulting in an intra-government transfer between central government and local government.

As noted previously, the data compiled includes an estimate for taxes accrued but not yet paid as they are part of the Government’s tax warehouse scheme. These estimates have been reviewed and updated and 85% of all warehoused taxes have been accrued.

Using the latest data provided by the Revenue Commissioner, €2.2 billion has been accrued to date, €1,1 billion in 2020 and €1.1 billion in 2021. The debt warehousing accrual has been applied to VAT, PAYE and PRSI. The accrual adjustment will be kept under review as new information becomes available.

Super dividend: 

In Q2 2021 the Central Bank of Ireland transferred surplus income to the Exchequer. Of the amount received, €486 million was classified as a super dividend which does not benefit the general government balance, but rather is treated as a financial transaction (withdrawal of equity).

GDP figures used in publication

The GDP figures used in this publication are consistent with those published in the Annual National Accounts (ANA) published on 15 July 2022 (annual figures to 2021) and the Quarterly National Accounts published on 2 September 2022.

Modified Gross National Income (GNI*)

Modified Gross National Income (GNI*) is equal to Gross National Income at current market prices less the factor income of redomiciled companies, less depreciation on research and development related intellectual property imports and less depreciation on aircraft related to aircraft leasing.

Consistency with Institutional Sector Accounts

Every effort is taken to ensure that the GFS data and other national accounts data, particularly the Institutional Sector Accounts (ISA), are aligned. However due to the timing of when revisions are incorporated and the publication of the ISA prior to the completion of the EDP clarification process the series may diverge temporarily. 

This is the case in relation to the D.3 / P.2 revision in 2021 noted above.

As the ISA is aligned to the 2021 Annual National Accounts published in July 2022, the detailed series will be realigned for the 2022 Annual National Accounts.

Government Finance Statistics – concepts and definitions

Government Finance Statistics (GFS) form the basis for fiscal monitoring in Europe, in particular in relation to the Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP).

European GFS, including EDP statistics, are produced according to the legally binding accounting rules of the European System of Accounts (ESA2010). The Manual on Government Debt and Deficit (MGDD) provides further guidance on the implementation of ESA2010 in the context of GFS.

EU Member States are required to report government deficit/surplus and debt data biannually under the EDP (before 1 April and 1 October in year N) for years N-4 to N-1 calendar years as well as a forecast for the current year. The data are reported in harmonised tables, which provide a consistent framework for the presentation of this data by Member States. The tables provide a structure for linking national budgetary aggregates with government deficit and debt.

Detailed statistics on government revenue and expenditure are also provided to Eurostat under the ESA transmission programme.  For annual data the main tables reported are:

Table 0200   Revenue and expenditure of general government and sub-sectors

Tables 0900 and 0999    Taxes and national tax list

These data are available on the Eurostat website.

Definition of general government and its subsectors

The general government sector of the economy, is defined in ESA2010 paragraph 2.111: as “institutional units which are non-market producers whose output is intended for individual and collective consumption, and are financed by compulsory payments made by units belonging to other sectors, and institutional units principally engaged in the redistribution of national income and wealth.” General government comprises the sub-sectors central government (S.1311), state government (S.1312 – which does not apply in Ireland), local government (S.1313), and social security funds (S.1314).

General government balance is the standard European measure of the fiscal balance, which is used to monitor compliance with the Stability and Growth Pact.

This measure is by definition equal to both Total Revenue (TR) less Total Expenditure (TE), and Net Acquisition of Financial Assets less Net Incurrence of Liabilities as shown in the GFS release.

In principle net lending/borrowing in the non-financial account is equal to the balance of the financial account however in practice this is often not the case. This can be due to a number of reasons such as timing differences between when transactions are recorded in the two accounts, differences in sources of information and statistical adjustments.

A listing of some of the main items included in this release is shown below.

Main components of general government expenditure and revenue

P.2 Intermediate consumption – value of goods and services used in the process of production, excluding fixed assets
P.5 Gross capital formation
  P.51g Gross fixed capital formation - acquisitions, less disposals, of fixed assets during a given period plus certain additions to the value of non-produced assets realised by productive activity. Fixed assets are tangible or intangible assets produced as outputs from processes of production that are themselves used repeatedly, or continuously, in processes of production for more than one year
  P.51c Consumption of fixed capital - the amount of fixed assets used up, during the period under consideration, as a result of normal wear and tear and foreseeable obsolescence, including a provision for losses of fixed assets as a result of accidental damage which can be insured against.
P.52 Changes in inventories
P.53 Acquisitions less disposals of valuables
D.1 Compensation of employees – the total remuneration of government employees
D.29 Other taxes on production (payable) all taxes that enterprises incur as a result of engaging in production, independently of the quantity or value of the goods and services produced or sold. These include taxes on use or ownership of land or buildings, taxes on use of fixed assets, taxes on total wage bill and payroll, taxes on international transactions related to production.
D.3 Subsidies (payable) - current unrequited payments which general government or the institutions of the European Union make to resident producers, with the objective of influencing their levels of production, their prices or the remuneration of the factors of production
D.4 Property income accrues when the owners of financial assets and natural resources put them at the disposal of other units of the economy. The income payable for the use of financial assets is called investment income, while that payable for the use of a natural resource is called rent. Property income is the sum of investment income and rent.
  D.41 Interest receivable by the owners of a financial asset for putting it at the disposal of another institutional unit - applies to deposits (AF.2), debt securities (AF.3), loans (AF.4) and other accounts payable (AF.8)
  D.42 Dividends receivable by the owners of share equities. Dividends exclude "super dividends" which arise where the dividend paid is large relative to the recent level of dividends and earnings. Super dividends are recorded as withdrawal of equity (F.5). This arises, for example, in the case of dividends paid by the Central Bank in 2015.
  D.45 Rent of a natural resource – income receivable by the owner of a natural resource for putting the resource at the disposal of another party.
D.5 Current taxes on income, wealth, etc., (payable) - all compulsory, unrequited payments, in cash or in kind, levied periodically by general government and by the rest of the world on the income and wealth of units in the economy, and some periodic taxes which are assessed neither on income nor wealth
D.6 Social contributions - transfers to households, in cash or in kind, intended to relieve them from the financial burden of a number of risks or needs.
D.7 Other current transfers – includes VAT and GNI based EU budget contributions, current transfers between subsectors of government, current international co-operation and current transfers to households and non-profit institutions.
D.9 Capital transfers - involve the acquisition or disposal of an asset, or assets, by at least one of the parties to the transaction.  Includes capital taxes and investment grants.
P.1 Total output of Government is equal to market output, own account capital formation, and non-market output (i.e. the sum of D.1+P.2+P51c). The market output referred to in this publication is the imputed market value of social housing rented dwellings. See Table 2.1.
P.3 Final consumption expenditure of Government is equal to the total of its output (P.1) plus the expenditure on products/services supplied to households via market producers minus the sales of goods and services (at both market and non-market prices). This is made up of individual non-market services plus collective non-market services (P.31 and P.32). See Table 2.2.

Categories of financial flows

F.1 Monetary gold and special drawing rights (SDRs) 
  F.11  Monetary gold
  F.12  Special drawing rights (SDRs) 
F.2   Currency and deposits
  F.21  Currency
  F.22  Transferable deposits
  F.29  Other deposits
F.3  Debt securities
  F.31  Short-term
  F.32  Long-term
F.4  Loans 
  F.41  Short-term loans 
  F.42  Long-term loans
F.5  Equity and investment fund shares 
  F.51 Equity
  F.52 Investment fund shares/units
F.6 Insurance pension and standardised guarantee schemes
F.7 Financial derivatives and employee stock options
  F.71 Financial derivatives
  F.72 Employee stock options
F.8 Other accounts receivable/payable
  F.81 Trade credits and advances
  F.89 Other trade credits