The general government balance shows a surplus of €23.2 billion, or 4.3% of GDP in 2024, almost treble the surplus of €7.9 billion recorded in 2023.
Total government revenue increased to €148.3 billion, €24.5 billion higher than 2023.
Total government expenditure also increased to €125.1 billion, a €9.2 billion increase on the year before.
Gross general government debt fell to €218.2 billion at the end of 2024.
| Table 1.1 General Government Finances | |||||||
| End of year | General Government | GDP | |||||
| Balance | Gross Debt | Net Debt | |||||
| €bn | % GDP | €bn | % GDP | €bn | % GDP | €bn | |
| 2019 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 203.4 | 55.9 | 173.2 | 47.6 | 363.7 |
| 2020 | -18.6 | -4.9 | 217.9 | 57.0 | 184.6 | 48.3 | 382.2 |
| 2021 | -6.1 | -1.4 | 236.1 | 52.6 | 191.4 | 42.6 | 449.2 |
| 2022 | 8.7 | 1.7 | 224.8 | 43.1 | 186.5 | 35.8 | 520.9 |
| 2023 | 7.9 | 1.5 | 220.7 | 43.3 | 179.3 | 35.2 | 510.0 |
| 2024 | 23.2 | 4.3 | 218.2 | 40.9 | 157.2 | 29.5 | 533.4 |
| X-axis label | GG gross debt (LHS) | GG net debt (LHS) | GG balance (RHS) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 55.9235910317277 | 47.6 | 0.409589443632568 |
| 2020 | 57.0062335768314 | 48.3035642337092 | -4.86076897280843 |
| 2021 | 52.5623446175216 | 42.6022558103223 | -1.36380550782814 |
| 2022 | 43.1475986449289 | 35.7999752785971 | 1.66853150961334 |
| 2023 | 43.2827341667173 | 35.1680719851021 | 1.54921896860337 |
| 2024 | 40.899869378712 | 29.4697201453673 | 4.3 |
General government recorded a record surplus of €23.2 billion in 2024.
This surplus in 2024 was driven by revenues of €148.3 billion, an increase of €24.5 billion (19.8%) on 2023.
The main driver behind this rise was the large one-off capital transfer of over €14 billion arising from a Court of Justice of the European Union ruling and the continued growth in tax revenues (See Table 1.2). Tax revenues rose by €9.2 billion (9.8%) on the previous year, with increases across both direct taxes and indirect taxes. Direct taxes, which includes corporation tax, reported a year-on-year increase of €6.6 billion (11.1%) while indirect taxes, which includes VAT, also showed growth in 2024 of €2.3 billion (7%).
Expenditure in 2024 reached €125.1 billion, up €9.2 billion (8.0%) on 2023. Increased expenditure was witnessed across most expenditure categories. There was a €2.6 billion (8.3%) rise in compensation of employees, a €2.5 billion (21.2%) rise in gross fixed capital formation while social benefits in cash also rose by €2.5 billion (8.5%).
The general government gross debt to GDP ratio was 40.9% at the end of 2024 compared with 43.3% of GDP a year earlier. The nominal value of debt fell by €2.5 billion during the year. Net debt, which includes EDP assets, was €157.2 billion at the end of 2024, down €22.1 billion.
Government accounts are compiled in the EU according to the European System of National Accounts 2010 (ESA2010) framework.
The detailed tables are aligned with the April 2025 Excessive Deficit Procedure notification. Revisions to previous years reflect updated data sources or changes in methodology - see Background Notes.
The main EDP notification tables for Ireland will be published on 23rd April, the day following the Eurostat release of EDP statistics. This will include details of government guarantees, PPPs and concessions and tables showing the impact on government accounts of government interventions in the financial sector.
An updated Information Note explaining the walk from Exchequer Balance to General Government Balance for 2024 will also be published on 23rd April.
Annual Government Finance Statistics are benchmarked to the most recent EDP notification and so may not be fully aligned with the Annual National Accounts and related publications, such as the Institutional Sector Accounts.
The concepts and definitions used in this release are described in the background notes.
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (22 April 2025) published Government Finance Statistics results for 2024.
Commenting on the release, Bill Drakeford, Statistician in the Government Accounts Compilation & Outputs Division, said:
“Today’s results for 2024 show a surplus of €23.2 billion, with revenue 20% higher than 2023, and expenditure up by 8%. Total government revenue of €148.3 billion, is a €24.5 billion increase on 2023. This was driven by a one-off capital transfer of over €14 billion arising from a Court of Justice of the European Union ruling, alongside continuing increases in tax revenue.
Total government expenditure rose by €9.2 billion in 2024. This was due to increases across almost all expenditure items, most notably in pay, social benefits, and capital investment.
This resulted in an overall government surplus of €23.2 billion for 2024, up 193% on 2023.
Gross general government debt fell by €2.5 billion to €218.2 billion at the end of 2024. This is the equivalent to 40.9% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).”