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THE DEFICIT FOR the first nine months of this year was €11 billion with tax take slightly ahead of target, according to the latest Exchequer returns.
Figures released by the Department of Finance this evening show that tax take at just over €26 billion for the first three quarters of this year is 8.4 per cent ahead of the same period last year (€24 billion) and €385 million ahead of target.
Three of main four taxes – income tax, corporation tax, and Value Added Tax (VAT) – are ahead profile with income tax coming in at €10.4 billion, corporation tax at €2.4 billion and VAT, which went up two per cent in the last Budget, at €8.2 billion.
However excise duty, another of the big four, was below target for the third consecutive month in September with receipts €135 million behind the cumulative target at the end of last month and a total of €3.2 billion taken in the nine months of the year.
Overall government spending was one per cent more than targeted.
In a statement Finance Minister Michael Noonan noted pressures in the areas of health and social protection when it came to expenditure.
Spending at the Department of Health was 2.7 per cent higher than expected at €254 million while in social protection there was nearly €400 million more spent than was expected, an increase of 3.9 per cent.
The only other department where expenditure was ahead of target was in the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport where there was a 6.5 per cent increase on targeted spending which equates to €58 million.
By contrast, the Department of Jobs, Innovation and Skills spent 17 per cent less (€85 million) than expected.
In a statement, Noonan said: “Although challenging targets still remain for the last quarter, I am confident that the overall tax revenue target for 2012 tax receipts can be achieved.”
In a joint statement with Public Expenditure and Reform Minister Brendan Howlin, Noonan said there remained concerns about the size of the deficit although it has been reduced from €20 billion last year.
They said: “Despite this significant progress the deficit, at €11 billion for the first nine months of the years, remain too high and the Government is committed to reducing it further in the coming years.
“We continue to meet all our fiscal targets under the EU/IMF programme, the latest being the end-September Exchequer primary balance target, the eighth consecutive such target to have been achieved.”
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Meanwhile, the lapdog of Merkel (Enda Kenny) continues to sell Ireland’s sovereignty down the drain.
The question is: will people continue to vote for FG? I hope not. We need change in Ireland. It’s time to vote for SF or the Socialist party.
Rob, as much as I want to see change and the back of FG/LAB! My stomach could not hold if SF and co were to get into power. Sorry that is a step too far for my liking!!
So Jack, If its not SF then I guess the only other option is FF. Good Luck with them….
Jack Canon wrote: “Rob, as much as I want to see change and the back of FG/LAB! My stomach could not hold if SF and co were to get into power. Sorry that is a step too far for my liking!!”
Why?
What is your stigma with SF?
They represent an alternative to FG’s tax breaks to the mega-rich and a new way forward without having to pay the bondholders.
Whether we’re in the euro or not Irish sovereignty was always an illusion. Irrespective of our break with sterling in 1979, we’ve always been beholden to Germany as the biggest economy in Europe. In a perfect world we could leave the euro and devalue a new Irish currency. Unfortunately the banks would collapse over night as personal and mortgage debt will remain denominated in euros while the new punt would be worth a fraction of a euro. It’s a loose loose for us I’m afraid.
Maybe consider voting for individuals ideals rather than just because they are in a party you have always voted for
I’d have no problem with the Socialist getting a bigger slice of the vote, but Rob, SF’s only priority is power, not the country. They are only a different version of FF.
Unless the people rise up and take back the country, wipe the slate clean and start again – nothing is going to change.
So most likely nothing is going to change.
Greece needs more than an extension to an austerity plan, it needs a miracle at this stage.
And Ireland needs a write-down on our promissory note. Why can’t the politicians reward Ireland? We didn’t have a fiscal problem until we were sacrificed to save private investors.
Or a global catastrophe, end of days event would be just as helpful
Ireland needs some sort of write-down for it to be able to sustainably float on the stock market again. The problem at the moment is that Merkel & Co care so little about Ireland, because our economic figures in GDP are in slight growth. These people don’t see social impacts.
If Greece manage to successfully agree an ‘extension’ to it’s economic destruction, it would help the economy in the short term, possibly bringing contraction per year down to -3% instead of -6.5%, but it wouldn’t be doing anything useful for it in the long term. It would only prolong the obvious default that needs to happen. But, of course, I’m sure that if Greece’s contraction rate fell to -3% Europe and it’s elite would celebrate their great success in ‘helping Greece’.
“We didn’t have a fiscal problem until we were sacrificed to save private investors.”
Well thats not really true is it?
Look at the budget deficit even without the bank bailout costs.
@ Gagsy 99. The point is if we didn’t have to cover the bail out costs there would have been a good chance we would not have been driven out of the bond markets. The & cost for our bonds only started to rise sharply after the bank bail out. Yes we would have need to address the budget deficit but we could have done it on our own terms rather then as directed by the Troika.
http://www.sli-nios-fearr.com is the way to vote next time. For a better way ,to get us out of this economic disaster and move on in peace
Not too long to go now before Greece are forced to leave this failed German sponsored EU/Euro experiment, the house of cards will start to crumble completely and we wll finally be back to some form of normality. With our own currencies, borders, and sovereignty. Bring it on…!!!
Buy beans!!
Beans? Not at all follow Noonan’s advice buy feta cheese.
Ireland is NOT broke.Far from it. Golden opportunities for employers are here up for grabs.Bad times for the working person.
IRELAND has money but its the elite that have it and the minister for justice is a millionaire as well as other ministers having big portfollios which explains their way of treating the rich and poor
have your say