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Sustainable Development Indicators Ireland 2017

Economy

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2.1 Ireland: General government debt and balance

General government debtEU general government debt limit
199575.407841205553460
199673.824369664153160
199762.852797439704860
199851.463791022114960
199946.607813106691460
200036.070324681915160
200133.232628894301360
200230.554023140690460
200329.923603811565260
200428.214852956245560
200526.072167128824660
200623.609674647818860
200723.897350640924960
200842.41353956320960
200961.676448404280460
201086.299454297407960
2011109.61310452418160
2012119.47722384696860
2013119.47122507754960
2014105.24922344170660
201578.624748353302260
General government balanceEU deficit limit
1995-2.14365205334501-3
1996-0.255788459621965-3
19971.32627906641487-3
19982.02606001020497-3
19992.41597998188015-3
20004.86699943718111-3
20010.970141297840759-3
2002-0.320703782980633-3
20030.423201907156647-3
20041.33274413362025-3
20051.60795694881797-3
20062.80934394605022-3
20070.273197731293051-3
2008-6.97917277168903-3
2009-13.8122849196248-3
2010-32.1180680213494-3
2011-12.6203270353036-3
2012-7.97364498105306-3
2013-5.65621028916425-3
2014-3.72592669289708-3
2015-1.87088325547759-3
  • General government debt fell from 75% of GDP in 1995 to 24% of GDP in 2006 and 2007. It increased substantially to 119% in 2012 and 2013 before falling to 79% in 2015.
  • The general government balance was in surplus for most years between 1995 and 2007, with 2006 showing a surplus of over €5 billion. Since 2008, there have been substantial deficits, and the deficit reached 32% of GDP in 2010. This was largely due to €30 billion in bank recapitalisation. The deficit has fallen each year since then and was 2% of GDP in 2015.
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2.2 EU: Net receipts from EU 2000-2015

Net receipts
Poland9.12127759810075
Czech Republic5.53227948962094
Romania5.09164316257096
Greece4.86688843354466
Hungary4.55551157280369
Spain3.60627630364854
Slovakia3.03796709941559
Bulgaria2.24558064829433
Belgium1.48118874335791
Luxembourg1.28265883638336
Portugal0.948953783512261
Latvia0.746010296566292
Slovenia0.536565647145797
Lithuania0.48752316241731
Estonia0.2325123575954
Croatia0.207422405230138
Ireland0.169293350684802
Malta0.0300644728294878
Cyprus-0.0269578346143514
Finland-0.524137502005664
Austria-0.938920829154664
Denmark-0.992614721274744
Sweden-2.5515842678213
Italy-3.58181034792223
Netherlands-5.58796076140428
France-6.13779454903551
United Kingdom-13.951687964673
Germany -17.1122132408969
€000m
Poland9.12127759810075
Czech Republic5.53227948962094
Romania5.09164316257096
Greece4.86688843354466
Hungary4.55551157280369
Spain3.60627630364854
Slovakia3.03796709941559
Bulgaria2.24558064829433
Belgium1.48118874335791
Luxembourg1.28265883638336
Portugal0.948953783512261
Latvia0.746010296566292
Slovenia0.536565647145797
Lithuania0.48752316241731
Estonia0.2325123575954
Croatia0.207422405230138
Ireland0.169293350684802
Malta0.0300644728294878
Cyprus-0.0269578346143514
Finland-0.524137502005664
Austria-0.938920829154664
Denmark-0.992614721274744
Sweden-2.5515842678213
Italy-3.58181034792223
Netherlands-5.58796076140428
France-6.13779454903551
United Kingdom-13.951687964673
Germany -17.1122132408969
  • Ten EU member states were net contributors to the EU budget in 2015. Germany was the largest net contributor, at over €17 billion in 2015, while Poland was the largest recipient of funds at €9 billion in 2015. Ireland received €169 million from the EU on a net basis in 2015.
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2.3 EU: Per capita net receipts from EU 2000-2015

Per capita net receipts
Luxembourg2278.42722971049
Slovakia560.371062518866
Czech Republic524.97011983659
Hungary462.227056433736
Greece448.229910241875
Latvia375.61643373044
Bulgaria311.791018282798
Slovenia260.105875175021
Romania256.239425045946
Poland239.998164431727
Estonia177.048269241763
Lithuania166.887859567991
Belgium132.142973803153
Portugal91.4669941819012
Spain77.6385377053271
Malta70.024206299582
Croatia49.0903887969889
Ireland36.5727405259383
Cyprus-31.8271310475832
Italy-58.9156064079465
France-92.4155638053111
Finland-95.7896860486326
Austria-109.479040942745
Denmark-175.382456762354
Germany -210.747934889908
United Kingdom-215.054373498288
Sweden-261.771964581294
Netherlands-330.634362180908
€ per capita
Luxembourg2278.42722971049
Slovakia560.371062518866
Czech Republic524.97011983659
Hungary462.227056433736
Greece448.229910241875
Latvia375.61643373044
Bulgaria311.791018282798
Slovenia260.105875175021
Romania256.239425045946
Poland239.998164431727
Estonia177.048269241763
Lithuania166.887859567991
Belgium132.142973803153
Portugal91.4669941819012
Spain77.6385377053271
Malta70.024206299582
Croatia49.0903887969889
Ireland36.5727405259383
Cyprus-31.8271310475832
Italy-58.9156064079465
France-92.4155638053111
Finland-95.7896860486326
Austria-109.479040942745
Denmark-175.382456762354
Germany -210.747934889908
United Kingdom-215.054373498288
Sweden-261.771964581294
Netherlands-330.634362180908
  • On a per capita basis, Luxembourg was the highest net recipient of funds from the EU in 2015 at €2,278 per capita. Ireland’s net receipts per capita have fallen from €408 in 2000 to €37 per capita in 2015. The Netherlands was the largest net contributor to the EU, on a per capita basis, with €331 in 2015.
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General government tax revenue as percentage of GDP
Finland54.9
Denmark53.5
France53.5
Belgium51.3
Austria50.6
Sweden50.5
Hungary48.5
Greece47.9
Italy47.8
Slovenia45.1
EU44.9
Germany 44.7
Portugal44
Luxembourg43.7
Croatia43.6
Netherlands43.2
Slovakia42.9
Malta42
Czech Republic41.3
Estonia40.5
Bulgaria39
Cyprus39
Poland38.9
Spain38.6
United Kingdom38.5
Latvia35.8
Lithuania34.9
Romania34.9
Ireland27.6
  • Finland (55%) had the highest general government tax revenue as a percentage of GDP in 2015. Ireland’s general government tax revenue (28%) was the lowest among EU member states.
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2.4 Ireland: Exchequer tax revenue 1995-2016

  • Total exchequer tax revenue increased from €14.4 billion in 1995 to €47.2 billion in 2007, before declining by €15.5 billion between 2007 and 2010. Total exchequer tax revenue has since increased to €47.9 billion in 2016.
  • Income tax as a proportion of total exchequer tax revenue fell from 36% in 1995 to 27% in 2006, before increasing to 40% in 2016. The  increase between 2010 and 2011 is due to the introduction of the universal social charge.
  • Corporation tax as a proportion of total tax revenue grew from 10% in 1995 to 15% in 2006, before falling to 10% in 2011. Corporation tax reached 15% of total tax revenue in 2016. Capital taxes (Capital Gains tax and Capital Acquisitions tax) grew from 1% of total tax revenue in 1995 to 8% in 2006, before falling back in subsequent years.
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2.5 Ireland: Income tax distribution 2002-2014

% of total income earned% of total income tax paid
0-€20,0009.30.7
€20,000-€50,00035.419.7
€50,000-€100,0003336.9
Over €100,00022.342.7
  • The proportion of total taxable income earned by cases with incomes of less than €20,000 per annum fell from 16% in 2002 to 9% in 2014. The proportion of total income tax paid by this group fell from 3% in 2002 to 0.7% of the total in 2014.
  • While the proportion of total income earned by cases in the €20,000 to €50,000 bracket has fallen from 42% in 2002 to 35% in 2014, the proportion of income tax paid by this group has dropped more significantly from 33% of the total to 20%.
  • The proportion of total income earned by cases in the €50,000 to €100,000 per annum bracket has grown from 25% to 33% between 2002 and 2014. The income tax paid by this group has been more stable, rising from 34% to 37% between 2002 and 2014.
  • Income for those cases earning above €100,000 per annum increased from 17% of total taxable income in 2002 to 22% in 2014. In the same time period, the proportion of tax paid by this group grew from 30% in 2002 to 43% in 2014.
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2.6 Ireland: General government expenditure on pay and social welfare 1995-2015

  • The proportion of general government expenditure accounted for by wages, salaries and pensions was 44% in 1995. This fell to 37% in 2010 before rising to 47% in 2015. General government expenditure accounted for by wages, salaries and pensions fell as a proportion of GDP from 14% in 1995 to 10% in 2015.
  • Government expenditure on social welfare fell from 32% of total current expenditure in 1995 to 27% in 2005. It has risen subsequently and was 37% of total current expenditure in 2015. Government expenditure on social welfare fell from 10% of GDP in 1995 to 7% in 2005.  It subsequently increased to 12% in 2009 before falling to 8% in 2015.
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Pound sterlingUS dollarJapanese yenChinese yuanSwiss franc
2001100100100100100
2002101.119204978532105.582849486378108.630842841369105.57661437185597.1201588877855
2003111.275668548089126.306386779812120.50975340449126.298039956294100.708374710361
2004109.132133725698138.890129522108123.702613176297138.898706344174102.204568023833
2005109.958673034557138.912460920054125.92013249908137.533555462627102.502482621648
2006109.625806036631140.196516301921134.357747515642135.02583264761104.131082423039
2007110.045507903581153.025904421617148.371365476629140.532300926738108.752068851374
2008128.046054641645164.225100491291140.274199484726137.912614156021105.091029460444
2009143.267885570939155.739169271996119.93006993007128.52517840039999.9668983780205
2010137.94522971039148.023671281822106.956201693044121.0181975152191.3803376365442
2011139.559715052985155.426529700759102.097902097902121.35274041898881.6021185038067
2012130.392204158425143.45690040196594.3043798306956109.33617514939879.7947699437272
2013136.565520124785148.291648057168119.304379830696110.1374593624881.5028136378683
2014129.62837892164148.336310853059129.103790945896110.42209062335680.4104601125455
2015116.718928393394123.883430102724123.58299595141794.067259311219370.698444223767
2016131.77673790342123.593121929433110.599926389499.178481337092472.1747765640517
  • The euro appreciated significantly against the pound sterling between 2007 and 2016. Referenced to 2001=100, the euro was 110 against sterling in 2007, rose sharply to 143 in 2009, then decreased to 117 in 2015 before rising again in 2016.
  • The euro also strengthened against the US dollar and the Japanese yen over this period. Taking the year 2001 =100, the euro index against the dollar was 124 in 2016 and the yen 111.
  • The euro weakened significantly against the Swiss franc from an index of 100 in 2001 to 72 in 2016. The euro gained against the Chinese yuan from 2001 to 2014 before declining in 2015 and 2016.
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2.7 Ireland: Gross domestic expenditure on R&D 1995-2015

  • Ireland’s expenditure on research and development as a percentage of GNP has grown from 1.3% in 1995 to 1.8% in 2014. The Europe 2020 target for Ireland is 2.5% of GNP.
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2.8 Ireland: Gross fixed capital formation by sector 2000-2015

  • Gross fixed capital formation of households grew from 9% of GDP in 2000 to 14% in 2006 before falling substantially to 2.8% in 2015.
  • Gross fixed capital formation for the total economy decreased from 31% in 2006 to 17.2% in 2011, before rising to 21.2% in 2015.
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2.9 EU: Harmonised index of consumer prices for energy products 2016

  • In Ireland, the harmonised index of consumer prices for energy products increased by 39% between 2005 and 2016, the twelfth lowest in the EU, and lower than the EU average increase of 47% over this period.
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Total dwelling completions
197013.887
197115.38
197221.572
197324.66
197426.256
197526.892
197624
197724.548
197825.444
197926.544
198027.785
198128.917
198226.798
198326.138
198424.944
198523.948
198622.68
198718.45
198815.654
198918.068
199019.539
199119.652
199222.464
199321.391
199426.863
199530.575
199633.725
199738.842
199842.349
199946.512
200049.812
200152.602
200257.695
200368.819
200476.954
200580.957
200693.419
200778.027
200851.724
200926.42
201014.602
201110.48
20128.488
20138.301
201411.016
201512.666
  • The number of dwelling completions increased substantially from 21,400 in 1993 to a high of over 93,400 in 2006. Since then, annual completions fell to 8,300 in 2013 before rising to 12,700 in 2015.
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2.10 EU: Dwelling completions 2007-2016

2007-2016
Hungary18.1716468382826
Germany 22.5365607107535
United Kingdom24.1422481181139
Italy28.7976618039638
Slovakia29.6373272021485
Czech Republic30.0016666290043
Portugal30.8786856388766
Denmark31.5214259129834
Sweden34.9697786470532
Netherlands37.0091465087307
Poland38.9125073882909
Belgium43.5983825061691
Austria50.3168329663624
Ireland52.8719089191021
Spain53.4535946007675
Finland55.2898090314227
France58.6691376820433
  • France had the highest level of completions of residential units per 1,000 persons in Europe between 2007 and 2016 at 58.7. Ireland had the fourth highest completion level at 52.9 per 1,000 persons over this period, with completions falling from 18 per 1,000 persons in 2007 to 1.8 in 2013 before rising again to 3.2 in 2016.

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