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The Exchequer figures to the end of August and in particular the strong performance of income and consumption taxes are further evidence that the recovery is strengthening as the year progresses.

The Exchequer deficit for the first 8 months of the year stood at €6.3 billion, €1.3 billion ahead of profile.

However, we continue to borrow an average of €800 million per month and this gap needs to be further reduced.

In Budget 2015, we will target a reduction in deficit to below 3%. It is clear from the strong exchequer performance to date that the level of adjustment through tax and expenditure cuts required to achieve this will be significantly less than forecast at the start of the year. This is due to the growing economy generating extra tax receipts and ongoing control of expenditure.