merrion street

The end-June 2012 Exchequer Returns was issued today by Finance Minister Michael Noonan and Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin.

Commenting on the Returns, Minister Noonan and Minister Howlin stated:

The Exchequer Returns for the first six months of the year give a clear indication of the progress that has been made in restoring order to the public finances and we are confident that the 8.6% of GDP General Government deficit target will be achieved.

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The Government remains committed to achieving the 3% of GDP deficit target in 2015 and we will continue with our strong  implementation of our EU/IMF Programme. In this regard it is important to point out that for the seventh successive end-quarter we have met the Exchequer primary balance target set as part of the Programme.

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The announcement following last week’s EU summit in Brussels shows that there is widespread recognition for the measures this country has implemented and the significant sacrifices that Irish people have taken to bring our public finances under control.

Commenting on the performance of tax revenues, Minister Noonan stated:

Today’s figures highlight that taxes continue to perform well and overall are just over €500 million or 3.1% ahead of profile for the year to date. Encouragingly, three of our “big four” sources of tax revenue – corporation tax, income tax and VAT – continue to perform ahead of profile....

There are significant targets to meet in the second half of the year, but tax revenue is on an upward trajectory and at this point I am confident that our overall tax revenue target for 2012 will be achieved.

Read the full press release here.