The General Government Balance (GGB) shows a surplus of €22.6 billion in 2024, or 4% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), almost treble the surplus of €7.2 billion recorded in 2023.
Total government revenue increased to €148.6 billion in 2024, €24.8 billion higher than 2023. More than half of this increase was due to a one-off capital receipt arising from a ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union.
Total government expenditure also rose to €126.0 billion in 2024, a €9.4 billion increase on 2023.
Gross General Government Debt (GGD) fell to €215.4 billion at the end of 2024, a decrease of €3.7 billion since the end of 2023.
This release contains a downward revision to the overall General Government Balance (GGB) levels as reported in the Government Finance Statistics Annual – Provisional Estimates 2021- 2024 (Oct 2025 Provisional Results) published on 06 October 2025.
As part of our ongoing quality and assurance processes, two areas have been identified for revision. A review of capital expenditure data sources identified that the level of Gross Fixed Capital Formation (P.51g) expenditure was underreported for the years 2022 to 2024 (See Table A). On the revenue side, a review of the compilation of current transfer receipts established an overstatement in the recording of Miscellaneous Current Transfers (D.75r) across the same period (See Table A). The overall impact of these changes is a downward revision to the General Government surplus / deficit (B.9) for these years.
| Table A – Revision to General Government Balance 2022-2024 | (€ m) | ||
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
| Revenue - D.75 Current Miscellaneous Transfer | -170 | -195 | -241 |
| Expenditure - P.51g Gross Fixed Capital Formation | 361 | 414 | 596 |
| Revision of General Government Balance | -530 | -609 | -837 |
Government Finance Statistics Annual Results 2019 to 2024 (October 2025) Table A (XLS 10KB)
The CSO’s quality and assurances processes for Government finances statistics include engagement with stakeholders and liaison groups. More information is available in the Background Notes.
| 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 | 202.9 | 55.8 | 172.8 | 47.5 | 363.8 |
| 2020 | -18.6 | -4.9 | 217.2 | 56.9 | 183.9 | 48.2 | 381.7 |
| 2021 | -5.9 | -1.3 | 235.2 | 52.4 | 190.4 | 42.5 | 448.4 |
| 2022 | 8.2 | 1.6 | 223.6 | 42.9 | 185.3 | 35.6 | 520.7 |
| 2023 | 7.2 | 1.4 | 219.1 | 41.8 | 177.7 | 33.9 | 524.7 |
| 2024 | 22.6 | 4.0 | 215.4 | 38.3 | 155.0 | 27.5 | 562.8 |
The General Government Balance was in surplus in 2024, recording a record level of €22.6 billion in 2024.
This surplus was driven by revenues of €148.6 billion, an increase of €24.8 billion (20.1%) on 2023.
The main driver behind this rise was the large one-off capital transfer of over €14.2 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 €9.1 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 €6.5 billion (10.9%) while indirect taxes, which includes VAT, also showed growth in 2024 of €2.4 billion (7.2%).
Expenditure in 2024 reached €126 billion, up €9.4 billion (8%) on 2023. Increased expenditure was seen across most expenditure categories. There was a €2.6 billion (8.3%) rise in wages and salaries (Compensation of Employees) while social benefit payments also rose by €2.4 billion (8.2%).
The general government gross debt to GDP ratio was 38.3% at the end of 2024 compared with 41.8% of GDP a year earlier. The nominal value of debt fell by €3.7 billion during the year. Net debt, which includes EDP assets, was €155.0 billion at the end of 2024, down €22.7 billion.
This release contains a downward revision to the overall General Government Debt (GGD) levels as outlined in the Government Finance Statistics Annual - Provisional Estimates 2021 to 2024 (October 2025 Provisional Results). The impact of this downward revision to the General Government Debt relating to the recording of the Capital Advance Leasing Facility (CALF) can be seen in Table 1.4. This shows a reduction to the Local Government contribution to General Government Debt, and a corresponding increase in Local Government liabilities to Central Government.
| X-axis label | GG gross debt (LHS) | GG net debt (LHS) | GG balance (RHS) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 55.7894696084498 | 47.5016466102637 | 0.406231933540934 |
| 2020 | 56.8972341228002 | 48.1836569200417 | -4.8681801454027 |
| 2021 | 52.443769532787 | 42.4665472228843 | -1.30758059682207 |
| 2022 | 42.9426639235286 | 35.5919793141056 | 1.58145957317411 |
| 2023 | 41.7512324087216 | 33.8565863463366 | 1.36427503773882 |
| 2024 | 38.2697631237223 | 27.5357248462259 | 4.01660108172429 |
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 October 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 21st October, the same day as 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.
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 (20 October 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 €22.6 billion, with revenue 20.1% higher than 2023, and expenditure up by 8%. Total government revenue of €148.6 billion, is a €24.8 billion increase on 2023. This was driven by a one-off capital receipt of more than €14 billion arising from a Court of Justice of the European Union ruling, alongside continuing increases in tax revenue.
Gross General Government Debt stood at €215.4 billion at the end of 2024, down by €3.7 billion in the year. This is the equivalent to 38.3% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).”