For a second successive year corporate tax revenues have risen steeply, but Government officials and ministers are not letting on to the sources of the bounty.

An incoming government can expect a “healthy” rise in tax revenues this year, as the economy extends a remarkable growth spurt of 6%, said Conall Mac Coille, chief economist at Davy Stockbrokers.

The latest Exchequer returns show tax revenues are 5.8% ahead of target in the first nine months of the year.