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Total general government revenue at €30.9 billion in Quarter 1 (Q1) 2025, which was €2.0 billion more than Q1 2024.
General government expenditure also increased year on year, reaching €30.1 billion. This was €0.5 billion higher than Q1 2024.
The resulting general government balance was €0.8 billion in Q1 2025, compared with -€0.7 billion in Q1 2024.
The general government gross debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio was 34.9% at the end of Q1 2025.
| Table 1.1 General Government Finances | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | ||||||||||
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | ||||
| Deficit/Surplus | ||||||||||||
| Value | €bn | 0.6 | 1.6 | -0.1 | 5.9 | -0.7 | 3.1 | 15.5 | 5.1 | 0.8 | ||
| Percentage of quarterly GDP | % | 0.5 | 1.2 | -0.1 | 4.6 | -0.5 | 2.3 | 10.8 | 3.4 | 0.5 | ||
| Seasonally adjusted value | €bn | 3.1 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 2.8 | 17.0 | 1.4 | 3.6 | ||
| Gross Debt | ||||||||||||
| Value | €bn | 223.6 | 223.1 | 222.6 | 220.7 | 215.8 | 216.9 | 217.7 | 217.7 | 208.6 | ||
| Percentage of annualised GDP | % | 42.2 | 41.8 | 42.0 | 42.1 | 41.1 | 40.8 | 40.3 | 38.7 | 34.9 | ||
| Net Debt | ||||||||||||
| Value | €bn | 185.0 | 182.3 | 180.6 | 179.3 | 179.4 | 173.1 | 168.6 | 157.3 | 151.7 | ||
| Percentage of annualised GDP | % | 34.9 | 34.1 | 34.1 | 34.2 | 34.1 | 32.6 | 31.2 | 27.9 | 25.4 | ||
With revenue of €30.9 billion and expenditure of €30.1 billion, Q1 2025 saw a surplus of €0.8 billion. On the revenue side, the main driver was taxes, which saw an increase of €1.5 billion when compared with Q1 2024. Other drivers were increased social contributions of €0.5 billion.
Expenditure was €0.5 billion higher than the same quarter in 2024, mainly due to growth in compensation of employees of €0.7 billion, intermediate consumption of €0.3 billion, and gross fixed capital formation of another €0.3 billion. These increases offset a decrease in other current transfers of €0.7 billion (See Table 1.2).
This release includes seasonally adjusted figures for general government total revenue, total expenditure, and the balance (See Table 1.2). A comparison between the seasonally adjusted and non-seasonally adjusted balance is shown in Figure 1.1. For details regarding the methodology used in producing the seasonally adjusted series, please see Background Notes.
| GG Balance | SA GG Balance | |
| Q1 2023 | 0.6 | 3.1 |
| Q2 2023 | 1.6 | 1.5 |
| Q3 2023 | -0.1 | 1.3 |
| Q4 2023 | 5.9 | 2.1 |
| Q1 2024 | -0.7 | 1.9 |
| Q2 2024 | 3.1 | 2.8 |
| Q3 2024 | 15.5 | 17.0 |
| Q4 2024 | 5.1 | 1.4 |
| Q1 2025 | 0.8 | 3.6 |
The general government gross debt fell by nearly €9.14 billion in Q1 2025. The debt to GDP ratio was 34.9% at the end of the quarter, a decrease of 3.7 percentage points from the end of Q4 2024. The decrease in the ratio was driven by a significant fall in the level of debt in addition to a significant rise in the GDP in the quarter. Over that same time frame, the net debt to GDP ratio fell from 27.9% to 25.4% due to a significant decrease in AF.2 assets (currency and deposits) from Q4, an increase in AF.3 assets (debt securities) and a very significant fall in AF.3 liabilities (debt securities) as well as a fall in AF.4 (loans) that were also recorded in the quarter.
| Gross Debt | Net Debt | |
| 2023 Q1 | 42.1806548604293 | 34.8933826407378 |
| 2023 Q2 | 41.7657489591562 | 34.1379180576881 |
| 2023 Q3 | 41.9755907979549 | 34.0615136631868 |
| 2023 Q4 | 42.0636336332216 | 34.1681264683776 |
| 2024 Q1 | 41.0540588765466 | 34.1284917455123 |
| 2024 Q2 | 40.8333901287442 | 32.5857551084805 |
| 2024 Q3 | 40.2817327202445 | 31.1914139938697 |
| 2024 Q4 | 38.6843005844765 | 27.9412971917621 |
| 2025 Q1 | 34.9401372751755 | 25.4213039868501 |
Government accounts are compiled in the EU according to the European System of National Accounts 2010 (ESA2010) framework.
This release contains quarterly Government Finance Statistics (GFS) and is aligned to the Annual National Accounts 2024 (ANA) published on 08 July 2025.
The quarterly data presented includes updates to previously published series which reflects new and updated data.
A full description of the concepts and definitions used in the production of these statistics is provided in the Background Notes.
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (18 July 2025) published Government Finance Statistics Quarterly Results for Quarter 1 2025.
Commenting on the release, Paul McElvaney, Statistician in the Government Accounts Compilation & Outputs Division, said:
"Today’s results for Q1 2025 show that total government revenue stood at €30.9 billion, which was €2.0 billion higher than in Q1 2024. This was driven primarily by an increase in taxes of €1.5 billion and social contributions of €0.5 billion.
Total government expenditure also saw an increase compared to the same quarter last year, to €30.1 billion in Q1 2025, which was €0.5 billion higher than Q1 2024. This was across a range of items, with increases driven by pay, intermediate consumption, and gross fixed capital formation.
This resulted in a government surplus of €0.8 billion in Q1 2025."