This chapter contains information on the performance of the overall economy. The details are drawn from the National Income and Expenditure 2018 electronic publication (NIE 2018) and the Government Finance Statistics - Annual (October 2019 results). The results are compiled in accordance with the latest EU standard framework, ESA 2010.
Estimates are provided at current and at constant prices. The impact of inflation is eliminated from the tables at constant prices and they indicate the real or volume changes in the various aggregates over time. At present, the constant price tables are chain linked annually and referenced to year 2017.
The table General Government Transactions provides a summary of the revenue and expenditure of the Government sector and the General Government balance (Surplus/Deficit) for each period. The General Government Surplus/Deficit is the standard European measure used to monitor compliance with the Stability and Growth Pact. This table also shows details of how this balance is financed.
The table General Government Net Worth, Gross and Net Debt presents the net worth of the Government sector at the end of each period, calculated as financial assets plus non-financial assets minus financial liabilities. It also shows General Government Gross Debt (also known as Maastricht Debt) which comprises the sum of certain categories of liabilities (namely currency and deposits, loans and debt securities) and a Net Debt measure which is obtained by deducting the values of the financial assets from the corresponding categories of financial liabilities in General Government Gross Debt.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measures the total output of the economy in a period i.e. the value of work done by employees, companies and self-employed persons. This work generates incomes but not all of the incomes earned in the economy remain the property of residents (and residents may earn some income abroad). The total income remaining with Irish residents is the Gross National Product (GNP) and it differs from GDP by the net amount of incomes sent to or received from abroad.
In Ireland's case, for many years past, the amount belonging to persons abroad has exceeded the amount received from abroad, due mainly to the profits of foreign-owned companies, and our GNP is, therefore, less than our GDP.
In 2018, GDP increased by 8.2% at constant prices, while GNP rose by 6.5%.
Figure 15.1 below shows GDP, GNP and Gross National Income at constant prices from 2010 to 2018.
Table 15.1 shows the main aggregates in current prices and constant prices as well as per head of population and per person in employment.
| X-axis label | GDP | GNP | GNI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 191.3 | 160.9 | 162.3 |
| 2011 | 192 | 155.2 | 156.8 |
| 2012 | 192.4 | 155.3 | 156.7 |
| 2013 | 195 | 164.3 | 165.5 |
| 2014 | 211.7 | 178.9 | 180 |
| 2015 | 265 | 203.3 | 204.6 |
| 2016 | 274.8 | 223.4 | 224.4 |
| 2017 | 297.1 | 234.9 | 236 |
| 2018 | 321.4 | 250.1 | 251.2 |
Gross Value Added (GVA) is equal to the sum of the values of the goods and services (or parts thereof) produced in the country without deducting an amount in respect of capital consumption (i.e. depreciation).
We produce GVA broken down by the different sectors allowing us to see the contribution of each sector to the economy as a whole.
| X-axis label | Agriculture forestry and fishing | Industry (excl. construction) | Construction | Distribution, transport, hotels and restaurants | Information and communication | Financial and insurance activities | Real estate activities | Professional, admin and support services | Public admin, education and health | Arts, entertainment and other services |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 3 | 108.2 | 8.3 | 36.8 | 38.3 | 21.2 | 16.8 | 31.5 | 31.2 | 4.1 |
Figure 15.2 above shows the relative contributions of each sector. The largest sector is Industry excluding Construction which accounts for just over 36% of total Gross Value Added at constant basic prices in 2018.
| X-axis label | Agriculture forestry and fishing | Industry (excl. construction) | Construction | Distribution, transport, hotels and restaurants | Information and communication | Financial and insurance activities | Real estate activities | Professional, admin and support services | Public admin, education and health | Arts, entertainment and other services |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | -2.31 | 43.14 | 3.75 | 10.37 | 30.46 | 2.19 | 0.29 | 8.44 | 3.54 | 0.13 |
Figure 15.3 above shows the contributions of each sector to the overall growth from 2017 to 2018. Industry excluding construction contributed 43.1% to the growth with Information and communication contributing another 30.5%.
Table 15.2 below shows GVA at constant basic prices broken down by sector as well as GDP, GNP and GNI all at constant market prices. All of the sectors of the economy distinguished in the table showed positive growth in 2018 except for Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing which recorded a decline of 14.6%. The highest increases were in the Information and communication and Construction sectors which recorded growth of 21.2% and 11.0% respectively. The other sectors had annual increases ranging from 0.4% in Real estate activities to 9.6% in Industry (excluding construction).
Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) is a measure of consumer spending on goods and services. Overall it rose by 3.4% in 2018.
| X-axis label | Food, beverages and tobacco | Clothing and footwear | Housing | Fuel and power | Household equipment and operation | Transport and communication | Recreation, entertainment and education | Miscellaneous goods and services | Expenditure outside the state | Expenditure by non-residents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 17.9 | 3.8 | 20.4 | 3.1 | 5 | 15.8 | 8 | 29.4 | 6 | -4.4 |
Figure 15.4 above shows the contributions of each of the different types of expenditure to the total Personal consumption expenditure. Note that expenditure by non-residents is shown as negative as it is removed from our total. Looking at the total expenditure in table 15.3 below, we can see that Housing accounts for 19%, Food, beverages and tobacco accounts for 17% and Transport and communication accounts for 15%.
Table 15.3 shows a further breakdown of Consumption of Personal Income from 2013 to 2018.
| X-axis label | General government revenue (% GDP) | General government expenditure (% GDP) | General government surplus/deficit (% GDP) | SGP limit = -3% GDP* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 38.7 | 40.81 | -2.11 | -3 |
| 1996 | 38.74 | 38.97 | -0.23 | -3 |
| 1997 | 37.84 | 36.49 | 1.34 | -3 |
| 1998 | 36.63 | 34.58 | 2.04 | -3 |
| 1999 | 36.39 | 32.87 | 3.52 | -3 |
| 2000 | 35.75 | 30.9 | 4.85 | -3 |
| 2001 | 33.47 | 32.51 | 0.95 | -3 |
| 2002 | 32.69 | 33.22 | -0.53 | -3 |
| 2003 | 33.36 | 33.01 | 0.34 | -3 |
| 2004 | 34.48 | 33.19 | 1.29 | -3 |
| 2005 | 34.94 | 33.37 | 1.57 | -3 |
| 2006 | 36.64 | 33.88 | 2.77 | -3 |
| 2007 | 36.2 | 35.94 | 0.26 | -3 |
| 2008 | 34.83 | 41.84 | -7.02 | -3 |
| 2009 | 33.22 | 47.05 | -13.82 | -3 |
| 2010 | 33.02 | 65.08 | -32.06 | -3 |
| 2011 | 33.81 | 46.65 | -12.84 | -3 |
| 2012 | 33.98 | 42.08 | -8.09 | -3 |
| 2013 | 34.24 | 40.41 | -6.17 | -3 |
| 2014 | 33.89 | 37.55 | -3.65 | -3 |
| 2015 | 26.98 | 28.91 | -1.94 | -3 |
| 2016 | 27.07 | 27.74 | -0.67 | -3 |
| 2017 | 25.76 | 26.04 | -0.28 | -3 |
| 2018 | 25.31 | 25.3 | 0.01 | -3 |
*Under Article 104(6) of the Treaty establishing the European Community, Member States of the European Union are required to limit General Government Deficit to less than 3% of GDP.
Figure 15.5 presents Government Revenue, Expenditure and surplus/deficit as a percentage of GDP from 1995 to 2018.
General Government experienced a surplus of €168 million (0.1% of GDP) in 2018 – an improvement on the 2017 position of -€907 million (-0.3% of GDP).
Government revenue increased from €61,517 million in 2013 to €82,337 million in 2018 driven mainly by increased tax and social contribution revenues. In the same period expenditure increased from €72,607 million to €82,168 million.
Taxes and social contributions continue to form the largest component of revenue over the period, representing 89.9% of total government revenue in 2018, with social benefits, the biggest expenditure category, accounting for 36.6% of government spending in 2018.
| X-axis label | Gross general government debt (% GDP) | Gross general government debt (% GNI*) | Stability & Growth Pact Debt Threshold |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 36.07 | 41.54 | 60 |
| 2001 | 33.24 | 39.17 | 60 |
| 2002 | 30.55 | 36.83 | 60 |
| 2003 | 29.93 | 35.21 | 60 |
| 2004 | 28.21 | 33.26 | 60 |
| 2005 | 26.08 | 30.81 | 60 |
| 2006 | 23.62 | 27.67 | 60 |
| 2007 | 23.91 | 28.48 | 60 |
| 2008 | 42.4 | 50.74 | 60 |
| 2009 | 61.54 | 77.64 | 60 |
| 2010 | 85.99 | 111.84 | 60 |
| 2011 | 111.06 | 150.15 | 60 |
| 2012 | 119.94 | 166.04 | 60 |
| 2013 | 119.87 | 157.24 | 60 |
| 2014 | 104.39 | 136.73 | 60 |
| 2015 | 76.72 | 123.97 | 60 |
| 2016 | 73.88 | 114.28 | 60 |
| 2017 | 67.77 | 109.46 | 60 |
| 2018 | 63.57 | 104.31 | 60 |
Figure 15.6 shows the gross debt of General Government at €205,978 million at the end of 2018. This is equivalent to 63.6% of GDP or 104.3% of modified Gross National Income (GNI*). The large decrease in the ratios from the 2013 levels are due to the increase in GDP and GNI* being substantially greater than the decrease in GG Debt.
Table 15.5 below shows that General Government Net Debt for 2018 amounted to €177,861 million or 54.9% of GDP, an increase of €16,055 million over the 2013 level. This net debt figure is obtained by deducting the values of the financial assets from the corresponding categories of financial liabilities in General Government Gross Debt
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