Ireland’s Balance of Payments showed a current account surplus of €17.4 billion in Quarter 1 (Q1) 2026 (See Table 1.3).
Merchandise exports were €77.0 billion in Q1 2026, a decrease of €36.0 billion compared with Q1 2025. Merchandise imports were €46.4 billion in Q1 2026, up €7.6 billion compared with the same period in 2025.
In Q1 2026, Service exports at €126.8 billion, were up by €11.5 billion compared with Q1 2025. Service imports at €116.9 billion rose €1.2 billion over the same period in 2025.
The trade balance at €40.5 billion, all goods and services exports less all goods and services imports, declined by €33.3 billion in Q1 2026 over the same period in 2025.
The overall income balance for Q1 2026 was -€23.1 billion, an increase of €44.9 billion compared with the same period in 2025.
Direct investment into Ireland rose by €25.5 billion in Q1 2026 while direct investment abroad increased by €21.0 billion in the quarter (See Table 1.4).
The stock of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) assets held in Ireland by foreign investors grew by €58.2 billion in Q1 2026 to €1,104.7 billion. FDI assets held abroad by Irish investors were up by €31.7 billion in the quarter to €1,230.9 billion (See Table 5.2).
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (04 June 2026) published the International Accounts results for Quarter 1 (Q1) 2026.
Commenting on the release, Gillian Roche, Assistant Director General with responsibility for International and Government Accounts Statistics said:
“In the International Accounts, the Current Account of the Balance of Payments recorded a surplus of €17.4 billion in flows with the rest of the world in Q1 2026, an increase of €11.6 billion compared with the surplus of €5.8 billion recorded in Q1 2025. The Merchandise balance decreased by €43.6 billion in Q1 2026 compared with the same quarter in 2025, while the Services balance went up by €10.3 billion. Net outflows of multinational profits were €26.3 billion in the quarter, a decrease of €37.4 billion on the net outflows recorded in Q1 2025.
Today’s International Accounts release includes a table of Current Account transactions with the US. The results show a deficit of €43.2 billion for Trade in Goods & Services with the US in Q1 2026, down €41.4 billion on the Q1 2025 trade balance. This trade deficit in Q1 2026, when combined with a deficit of €20.8 billion for net income flows, gives an overall Current Account deficit with the US of €64.0 billion in the quarter.”
More commentary is available in the Press Statement also issued today. See also Quarterly National Accounts results for Q1 2026 also published today.