Total general government revenue stood at €34.8 billion in Quarter 2 (Q2) 2025, which was €1.3 billion more than Q2 2024.
General government expenditure also increased year on year, reaching €32.8 billion. This was €2.2 billion higher than Q2 2024.
The resulting general government balance was €2.0 billion in Q2 2025, compared with €2.9 billion in Q2 2024.
The general government gross debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio was 33.3% at the end of Q2 2025.
| Table 1.1 General Government Finances | |||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |||||||||||
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | Q2 | ||||
| Deficit/Surplus | |||||||||||||
| Value | €bn | 0.4 | 1.3 | -0.3 | 5.8 | -0.8 | 2.9 | 15.4 | 5.1 | 0.5 | 2.0 | ||
| Percentage of quarterly GDP | % | 0.3 | 1.0 | -0.3 | 4.5 | -0.6 | 2.2 | 10.7 | 3.3 | 0.3 | 1.3 | ||
| Seasonally adjusted value | €bn | 2.8 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 3.0 | 16.9 | 1.2 | 3.1 | 1.9 | ||
| Gross Debt | |||||||||||||
| Value | €bn | 222.5 | 221.9 | 221.4 | 219.1 | 214.1 | 215.2 | 215.9 | 215.4 | 206.2 | 207.2 | ||
| Percentage of annualised GDP | % | 42.0 | 41.5 | 41.8 | 41.8 | 40.7 | 40.5 | 40.0 | 38.3 | 34.5 | 33.3 | ||
| Net Debt | |||||||||||||
| Value | €bn | 183.8 | 181.2 | 179.5 | 177.7 | 177.8 | 171.4 | 166.9 | 155.0 | 149.5 | 145.0 | ||
| Percentage of annualised GDP | % | 34.7 | 33.9 | 33.8 | 33.9 | 33.8 | 32.3 | 30.9 | 27.5 | 25.0 | 23.3 | ||
With revenue of €34.8 billion and expenditure of €32.8 billion, Q2 2025 saw a surplus of €2.0 billion. On the revenue side, the main driver was taxes, which saw an increase of €1.1 billion when compared with Q2 2024. Other drivers were increased social contributions of €0.4 billion.
Expenditure was €2.2 billion higher than the same quarter in 2024, with growth of €0.4 billion each in wages and salaries (compensation of employees), use of goods and services (intermediate consumption), and social benefits. There was a further increase in capital investment of €0.2 billion and a one-off capital transfer payment of €0.6 billion (See Table 1.2).
This release contains a downward revision to the overall General Government Balance (GGB) levels. For a note on this revision please see the Key Findings of Government Finance Statistics Annual 2024 (October 2025).
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 | 0.4 | 2.8 |
| Q2 2023 | 1.3 | 1.4 |
| Q3 2023 | -0.3 | 1.1 |
| Q4 2023 | 5.8 | 1.8 |
| Q1 2024 | -0.8 | 1.6 |
| Q2 2024 | 2.9 | 3 |
| Q3 2024 | 15.4 | 16.9 |
| Q4 2024 | 5.1 | 1.2 |
| Q1 2025 | 0.5 | 3.1 |
| Q2 2025 | 2 | 1.9 |
The general government gross debt increased slightly by €1 billion in the quarter. The debt to GDP ratio was 33.3%, a decrease of 1.2 percentage points from the end of Q1 2025. The decrease in the ratio this quarter was driven by a significant rise in GDP. Over the same time frame, the net debt to GDP ratio fell from 25% to 23.3% due to an increase in AF.2 assets (currency and deposits). There was also a decrease in AF.4 assets (loans) and an increase in AF.3 liabilities (debt securities) as well as AF.4 liabilities (loans) recorded in the quarter.
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- 2024 (Oct 2025 Provisional Results) published on 06 October 2025.
| Gross Debt | Net Debt | |
| 2023 Q1 | 42 | 34.7 |
| 2023 Q2 | 41.5 | 33.9 |
| 2023 Q3 | 41.8 | 33.8 |
| 2023 Q4 | 41.8 | 33.9 |
| 2024 Q1 | 40.7 | 33.8 |
| 2024 Q2 | 40.5 | 32.3 |
| 2024 Q3 | 40 | 30.9 |
| 2024 Q4 | 38.3 | 27.5 |
| 2025 Q1 | 34.5 | 25 |
| 2025 Q2 | 33.3 | 23.3 |
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 and is consistent with General Government Deficit and Debt levels reported at the end of September 2025 under the EU regulation governing the Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP) and the annual Government Finance Statistics (October 2025 results).
Government Finance Statistics are benchmarked to the most recent EDP notification and so may not be fully aligned with the Quarterly National Accounts and related publications, such as the Institutional Sector Accounts.
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 (21 October 2025) published Government Finance Statistics Quarterly Results for Quarter 2 (Q2) 2025.
Commenting on the release, Paul McElvaney, Statistician in the Government Accounts Compilation & Outputs Division, said:
"Today’s results for Q2 2025 show that total government revenue stood at €34.8 billion, which was €1.3 billion higher than in Q2 2024. This was driven primarily by an increase in taxes of €1.1 billion and social contributions of €0.4 billion.
Total government expenditure also rose to €32.8 billion in Q2 2025, which was €2.2 billion higher than Q2 2024. This was across a range of items, with increases driven by pay, use of goods and services, social benefits, investment and capital transfers.
This resulted in a government surplus of €2.0 billion in Q2 2025."