Gross Government debt fell by €5.7bn in 2025

Government debt currently stands at 32.9% of gross domestic product — down from 38.3% in 2024

Finance minister Simon Harris: Tax revenue for the first two months of the year stood at €13.6bn, of which €900m was corporation tax.
 

Gross Government debt fell by €5.7bn last year, leaving the total money owed at €209.9bn, new data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows.

This means Government debt currently stands at 32.9% of gross domestic product (GDP) — down from 38.3% in 2024. However, Ireland’s GDP is heavily influenced by the presence of the numerous multinational corporations with operations here.

The gross national debt has been coming down steadily over the last number of years. According to the CSO, the figure stood at €223.7bn in 2022.

The majority of the Government’s debt, about 60%, comes from Government bonds, while about 8.2% comes from the State savings schemes. The rest is made up of EU loans as well as other medium and long-term debt.

While Government debt has been on decline, a report from the Department of Finance last September forecasted the debt to increase over the course of 2026 due to the need to refinance some debt. The higher interest rate environment will likely mean the refinancing will be done at a higher cost.

The CSO’s provisional data also shows during 2025 the Government recorded a general surplus of €11.6bn — which is 1.8% of GDP.

Throughout the year, Government revenue fell by €3.9bn, or 3%, while expenditure rose by €7.9bn, resulting in a reduction of €11.7bn on the 2024 surplus. The 2024 surplus included a one-off capital transfer of revenue of €14.2bn arising from the Court of Justice of the European Union ruling in the Apple tax case. 

The funds the Government received from this ruling skewed the exchequer returns for most of the year.

According to the latest exchequer returns, in February the Government recorded a deficit of €1.8bn due to transfers to wealth funds, low corporate tax receipts, as well as other tax revenues remaining flat.

Tax revenue for the first two months of the year stood at €13.6bn, of which €900m was corporation tax. while total gross exchequer revenue stood at €18.6bn. February is not considered a significant month for corporation tax receipts.

However, corporation tax receipts are expected to increase over the course of 2026 as Pillar 2 tax reforms come into full effect. These new rules stipulate a minimum level of corporation tax for large companies. 

The Pillar 2 reform envisages firms with revenues over €750m be subject to an effective minimum corporate tax rate of 15%. Given the high number of multinational firms with operations here, corporation tax receipts are expected to be higher this year. 

However, concerns have been raised about the Government's reliance on just a handful of larger companies for corporation tax and how these reforms might only make it worse. 

Expenditure for February was more than €20bn, department figures show.

The Department of Finance is due to publish March’s exchequer returns on April 7.