The government surplus (net lending, B.9) was €0.8bn in the first quarter of 2025. This was an improvement of €1.5bn on a net borrowing of €0.7bn in 2024 Q1. This change was primarily due to higher tax receipts. Income and wealth taxes (D.5, which include PAYE and other tax on individual earnings, and corporation tax) were up €1.2bn on the same quarter of 2024. Taxes on products and production (D.2, which include VAT and local authority Rates) were up by a more modest €0.3bn.
On the expenditure side, net miscellaneous transfers (D.7) were down €0.7bn while final consumption expenditure (P.3) rose by €0.8bn (5%) to €16.3bn. Further details are shown in Table 2.1, below.
The gross value added (GVA) of Non-Financial Corporations was €130bn in Q1 2025, which was €33bn (34%) higher than in Q1 2024. The change in GVA by activity is illustrated in Figure 2.1. As we can see, the large growth in GVA of non-financial corporations was mainly due to higher value added in Industry.
The sequence of accounts after GVA is summarised in Table 2.2. The €130bn in GVA was split into €28bn Compensation of Employees (COE, D1 up 7% on Q1 2024) and €102bn Gross Operating Surplus (GOS, B2A3G up 44%).
The GOS (profit) was then largely distributed as dividends and reinvested earnings paid out (€82bn in the quarter, up €38bn or 86% on the first quarter of 2024).
Non-Financial corporations invested €30bn in capital assets (P5) in the quarter, which is €10bn more than in 2024 Q1. This left their net lending (B9) at €1bn, a change of €11bn from a net lending of €12bn in the equivalent quarter last year.
| Change since 2024Q1 | |
| Industry (excl. Construction) | 26.18 |
| Construction | 0.54 |
| Distribution, Transport, Hotels & Restaurants | 0.08 |
| Information & Communication | 3.98 |
| Professional, Admin & Support Services | 0.92 |
| Arts, Entertainment & Other Services | -0.08 |
Investment income (D.4) inflows and outflows of financial corporations were both €57bn in Q1 2025.
The value added of the sector was comparatively small: €7bn, similar to the equivalent quarter of 2024. The sector paid €3bn in compensation of employees in Q1 and made €4bn in gross operating surplus.
Most of the investment income flows relate to assets held overseas. As we can see from the International Accounts Table 1.5, the investment income (primary income) is mostly paid and received by Other Financial Intermediaries, such as non-pension investment funds. Thus, while the value of transactions are very high in the sub-sector, they have limited impact on the domestic economy.
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