Rising Vat revenues ease fears on economy

A big improvement in the amount of Vat the Government collected last month has helped assuage some fears about the outlook for the economy.

Exchequer figures published yesterday showed that the Vat revenues jumped in January to €2.31bn, a rise of 10.2% from January 2016.

That may boost hopes that consumer spending will hold up this year even as the potential threats to the economy loom closer with the start of Brexit talks between the UK and Brussels.