Government records €1.4bn surplus ahead of budget 

Budget due to announced next week

Finance minister Paschal Donohoe will deliver the budget on Tuesday.

Heading into the budget next week, the Government has recorded a €1.4bn surplus for the first nine months of the year, but proceeds resulting from the Apple tax case masks a deterioration in the underlying surplus.

According to the latest exchequer returns for September, the Government’s surplus of the year so far has fallen from the €5bn recorded during the same period in 2024. When receipts from the Apple tax last September are excluded, an underlying exchequer deficit of €1.9bn was recorded — a deterioration of €6.9bn year-on-year.