Gross Government debt declines by €2.5bn in 2024 

Ireland recorded a general Government surplus of €23.4bn during 2024, largely due to the conclusion of the €13bn tech giant Apple paid in back taxes

Last week, finance minister Paschal Donohoe published the latest exchequer results showing tax receipts are €3.5bn higher so far this year compared to last year. Picture: Sam Boal/Collins 

Ireland’s gross national debt fell by €2.5bn during 2024 to €218.2bn, as the Government recorded a surplus of €23.4bn, provisional data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows.

The data shows the general Government debt ratio fell to 40.9% of gross domestic product (GDP) at year end 2024. Gross debt during 2023 was 43.3% of GDP.

Ireland recorded a general Government surplus of €23.4bn during 2024, which equates to 4.4% of the country’s gross domestic product.

Government revenue increased by €24.5bn, or 19.8%, compared to 2023, while expenditure rose by €9bn, up 7.8%. This resulted in an improvement of €15.5bn on the 2023 surplus.

A large part of the surplus recorded last year was due to the conclusion of the Apple tax case in the European Court of Justice which meant the tech giant had to pay the Government €13bn in back taxes.

Last week, the Government published its exchequer results for the first three months of the year, which showed the public finances are in a healthy state. However, the country has yet to feel the impact of the tariffs announced by US president Donald Trump on Wednesday last week.

Total tax revenue for the January to March period stood at €23.6bn, which is €3.5bn ahead of last year. However, when tax revenues arising from the Apple ruling are excluded, underlying tax receipts of €21.9bn were up by €1.8bn.

Income tax receipts of €8.2bn in the quarter were up by €289m, while revenue from corporation tax stood at just over €3bn, up €607m year-on-year.

Vat receipts in the first quarter of the year stood at just over €7.6bn — up by €487m.