The series of official estimates of national income and expenditure was inaugurated in the White Paper on 'National Income and Expenditure', 1938-44 (Pr.No. 7356) and continued in a second White Paper 'Tables of National Income and Expenditure', 1938 and 1944-50” (Pr.No. 350), in the annual issues of the “Irish Statistical Survey” from 1950-51 to 1958 and in the publication 'National Income and Expenditure', 1959 to 2020. The latest estimates are contained in the 'Annual National Accounts' (ANA 2021). These estimates are based, not on exact information but on incomplete data collected from many sources. The estimates of different items are therefore of varying accuracy, but where exact statistics were not available it was possible in some cases to compare independent estimates from alternative sources and thus obtain a check on the accuracy of the methods used.
Net national product at factor cost can be defined as the total of all payments for productive services provided in this country or abroad accruing to the permanent residents of this country. The exact content of this definition is best shown by reference to the Explanatory Notes to Tables. Some income accrues to Irish residents as a result of economic activity abroad or property held abroad while some income arising in the State is paid to non-residents. Domestic income is the total income arising from productive activity within the State. Domestic income plus net factor income from the rest of the world equals net national product at factor cost.
Gross domestic product at factor cost (historically under ESA79) was determined as being equal to net domestic product (domestic income) plus total provision for depreciation. Gross national product at factor cost (not explicitly produced in the ANA publication) is equal to net national product plus total provision for depreciation.
Gross national product at current market prices is equal to gross national product at factor cost plus taxes on expenditure less subsidies. It represents total expenditure on the output of goods and services of the national economy valued at the prices at which the expenditure is incurred plus net factor income from the rest of the world. This expenditure is made up of personal expenditure on consumers’ goods and services, net expenditure by central and local government on current goods and services, gross domestic physical capital formation (comprising fixed capital and stocks) and net expenditure by the rest of the world on goods and services originating in Ireland plus net factor income from the rest of the world.
The concept of Gross Value Added at factor cost, together with the closely related concept of gross national product at current market prices, suggests that there are three different methods of summarising the total economic activity of the country. These three different presentations are given in Tables 3.1, 3.3 and 8.1. Table 3.1 shows net national product broken down by type of income. Table 3.3 shows net value added at factor cost broken down by sector of origin. Table 8.1 shows expenditure on gross national product at market prices broken down by category of expenditure.
The following are some points regarding the constituents of net national product:
Wages and salaries include all such elements of earnings as overtime payments, bonuses, piece-work payments, commission earnings of distribution employees, directors’ fees, etc. as well as income in kind (food, clothing, fuel and light). These are computed without deduction of employees’ contributions to social insurance and to contributory pension funds. The value of unpaid domestic services performed by spouses is excluded, whereas the remuneration in cash and kind of domestic servants is included.
Remuneration of employees includes, in addition to the above elements, employers’ social contributions.
Transfer income such as emigrants’ remittances and old age pensions, blind pensions, widows’ and orphans’ pensions, unemployment benefit or assistance and all other social welfare payments whether contributory or not, are excluded from net national product. Employees’ and employers’ contributions to the state social insurance funds are regarded as taxes on income. Gross national disposable income is the sum of gross national product and net current transfer payments from the rest of the world.
Profits of businesses are taken before deduction of taxes on income but are net of taxes on expenditure (including rates). Significantly, royalty service payments or receipts for businesses are not regarded as a form of investment income.
In measuring profits, receipts of investment income (interest and dividends) are in general not included in the output of businesses, and expenditures on investment income are in general excluded from their intermediate consumption. However, in the case of banks and similar businesses, output includes, in addition to invoiced fees and charges, an estimated service charge (called FISIM - financial intermediation services indirectly measured) in respect of their non-invoiced services, represented by the margin between the interest they pay on deposits and the interest they receive on loans. The estimation methodology makes use of a reference rate, approximating a pure interest rate, and calculated as the effective interest rate on inter-bank positions. In the case of loans (for which customers usually pay a higher rate than the inter-bank rate) the FISIM amount is calculated as the difference between the reference rate and the actual loan rate charged to customers, multiplied by the stock of loans of customers, and is subtracted from the original interest amount to yield the pure (FISIM-exclusive) interest amount. In the case of deposits (for which customers usually earn less than the inter-bank rate) it is the difference between the reference rate and the actual deposit rate paid by the bank to customers, multiplied by the stock of deposits from customers, and this is added to the original amount.
Of the total domestic production of FISIM, some is attributable to consumption in the form of final demand by depositing and borrowing customers (by households in their capacity as consumers, in the form of personal expenditure, by government in the form of government consumption, and by non-residents, in the form of exports). These components, therefore, add directly to GDP. The remainder of domestic production of FISIM is consumed as intermediate consumption by businesses or by households in their capacity as self-employed businesses and as borrowers for owner-occupation of dwellings, and has no net effect on aggregate GDP (although it does reduce the value added of the activity branches concerned, offsetting to some extent the increase in the value added of the financial services branch that produces the FISIM). FISIM, as a service, can also be imported by borrowing from and lending to banks abroad. Imported FISIM is attributed to users in the same way as domestically produced FISIM. Beginning with NIE 2015 the CSO changed the methodology used to calculate FISIM to bring it into line with ESA 2010. The details are outlined below in the section titled 'Changes in Concepts and Methods'.
The provisions for depreciation deducted to arrive at net profits have been based up to NIE 2009 on those allowed for tax purposes adjusted, as appropriate, for free depreciation, etc. rather than the provisions made by the enterprises themselves in their business accounts. Now the depreciation estimates are based on the CSO’s official estimates of the stock of fixed capital assets. The stock is calculated using a standard perpetual inventory method (PIM). The methodology used is described in the notes to the annual release on Capital Stock of Fixed Assets.
Companies include all public and private companies incorporated either in or outside the State, as well as certain corporate bodies, such as the Electricity Supply Board, the Central Bank, etc. Companies’ Savings comprise the undistributed income net of tax of all bodies counted as companies. In the case of subsidiaries or branches of foreign companies operating in the State the foreign direct investors’ share of the total trading income (less corporation tax payable in the State) is regarded as distributed to these investors. Correspondingly, the Irish direct investors’ share of trading profits of subsidiaries or branches operating abroad of Irish companies is regarded as having been distributed to these investors. [Direct investment here refers to a category of international investment that is based on an equity ownership of at least 10% and thus reflects a lasting interest by a resident in one economy in an enterprise resident in another economy.]
Income from dwellings is included in net national product. An imputed rent is included in respect of owner-occupied dwellings but no such element is imputed to other classes of durable goods.
Income of agriculturists is based on estimates of the value of gross output of agriculture after the deduction of estimates of various elements of costs, viz., the cost of marketing, feed-stuffs, fertilisers and seeds, petrol and oil, veterinary fees and medicines, depreciation, etc., as well as the interest element in land annuities paid. Farm produce consumed in farm households without process of sale is valued at the prices which farmers receive for similar goods sold. The value of changes in the numbers of livestock on farms and the value of the change in the stock of crops held on farms are included in agricultural income. Income originating in the agricultural sector includes, in addition to the above, the total interest element in land annuities, including both the interest element in annuities actually paid by farmers and that met by way of subsidy under the land acts.
Profits, interest, dividends and remuneration of employees from the rest of the world are included in national product and similar items arising in Ireland and paid to foreign residents are excluded. In the case of subsidiaries or branches of foreign companies operating in the State the foreign direct investors’ share of the total trading income (less corporation tax payable in the State) is regarded as distributed to these investors in the heading 'Net Factor Income' and hence excluded from National Income. Correspondingly, the Irish direct investors’ share of trading profits of subsidiaries or branches operating abroad of Irish companies is regarded as having been distributed to these investors and hence included in National Income. [See the section headed 'companies' for a definition of 'direct investors']
Government trading and investment income comprises (i) interest receipts, including income from foreign securities, interest on state holdings of contingent capital and preference shares in financial institutions and local authority interest income (ii) dividend payments from state-sponsored bodies (such as the ESB) and payments to the Exchequer of Central Bank surplus income, (iii) rental income of local government, consisting of actual rents received plus the amounts of “subsidies” involved (really benefits in kind to households which are also imputed as income to the Local Authorities) less expenses. Depreciation is deducted in respect of item (iii).
An adjustment for stock appreciation is deducted in the estimation of national product for years in which changes in commodity prices have been such that non-agriculture stocks held at the beginning of the year would have increased in value if no physical change had occurred. A similar provision is added for years in which price changes were such as to cause a fall in the value of non-agricultural stocks held at the beginning of the year. The effect of this is to include in the various aggregates only the value of the change in volume of stocks between the beginning and end of the year, as distinct from the change in the value of stocks which, in general, is brought to account as part of income according to normal accounting definitions and would thus have been included in items 4 and 5. (The value of the physical change in agricultural stocks is computed directly so no similar adjustment is required in this case.)
Personal income is the aggregate income from all sources in cash or kind, whether from productive services or not, at the disposal of individuals permanently resident in the State. It is equal to net national product plus provision for stock appreciation, less government trading and investment income, plus national debt interest and other current transfer payments, less undistributed profits before tax of companies and other corporate bodies.
Private income is the aggregate income from all sources in cash or kind, whether from productive services or not, of all individuals, companies, charities, etc. which are permanent residents of the State. It is equal to personal income plus the undistributed profits before tax of companies and other corporate bodies.
To take account of developments in international standards, and as part of the ongoing process of improvement, many editions of the accounts over the years have introduced methodological or data changes. Changes since the late 1970s are summarised below. In addition to these systematic changes, routine revisions in the source data usually also result in revisions for a number of years in each edition.
In the 1978 report it was possible to produce an improved classification of local government expenditure by purpose for the years from 1976 onwards. This was due to changes in the local government accounting system which took effect in 1976.
In the 1979 report a fundamental revision of methodology produced changes in the figures for gross fixed capital formation. These are described in that report. Also a more complete survey of trading profits of unincorporated enterprises, professional earnings, etc. resulted in revisions to these data.
In the 1980 report following a review of methodology, changes were made to balance of international payments data. Changes were also made to the method of recording housing subsidies. These changes are described in that report.
The 1982 report included revisions to the estimates for a number of items in the accounts arising from an ongoing review of sources and methods. These changes principally affected the Balance of International Payments estimate, company profits and the residual items personal consumers’ expenditure and savings.
The 1983/1984 report incorporated the new series of estimates for agricultural output and income released in July 1985. The classification used in the analysis of personal consumers’ expenditure was also changed in that report and aligned with that of the European System of Accounts. The headings are more functional in concept and some additional detail is involved. The detail of the relationship between the new and the old classification can be supplied on request.
The 1985 report introduced the concept of real gross national disposable income.
The 1988 report introduced a change in the treatment of non-commercial bodies, which were principally funded by grants from the State. Prior to this, these bodies were excluded from the scope of Central and local government and transactions between them and government were shown explicitly. In the 1988 report they were classified within the Central and local government sector and their receipts and expenditure consolidated with those of government. The net current expenditure of central and local government now includes the intermediate consumption of these grant aided bodies.
Arising from the Local Loans Fund (Amendment) Act, 1987, certain circular flows involving transfers and loan transactions between central government and local government decreased significantly.
A number of methodological improvements were introduced in the 1992 report. These changes principally involved the estimates of Wages and Salaries (mainly through the use of new surveys), Profits (using improved estimation procedures), Rent of dwellings (use of 1987 Household budget data) and Imports and Exports (new Balance of Payments surveys of International Trade in Services). These revisions significantly increased the levels of some of the key national accounting aggregates including Personal Consumption which was derived as a residual. Revisions have been made retrospectively.
The 1993 report incorporated a revised treatment of the deficit on the Local Government housing account, which was described in detail in the November 1993 issue of the Economic Series. Traditionally, in the Irish National Accounts, this deficit was treated as a subsidy. Following a legal decision published by the EU on the scope of subsidies in National Accounts (OJ L 224, 3.9.93, page 27), this deficit had to be reclassified as a current transfer payment from Local Government to households.
The 1994 report introduced the base 1990 for the constant price volume series.
The 1995 report revised the concept of Domestic Product and National Product by introducing two new points of methodology. They can be summarised as follows:
1. Royalty payments made by businesses are now excluded from profits as in normal company accounts. They are considered part of intermediate consumption and when the royalty payments are made abroad they are therefore considered as an import of services. Previously, royalty payments were included as part of profits (i.e. as a distribution out of profits). They were, however, considered part of Factor Incomes in the transition from GDP to GNP so while the level of GDP is affected by this change the level of GNP is unaffected.
2. In the transition from GDP to GNP the foreign direct investors’ share of the profits (including net investment income) of subsidiaries or branches operating in Ireland of foreign companies are considered to have been distributed to these investors. Correspondingly, the Irish direct investors’ share of the profits (including net investment income) of subsidiaries or branches operating abroad of Irish companies are considered to have been distributed to these investors. Previously only the profits actually remitted to/from abroad were taken into account in the transition from GDP to GNP.
A number of other changes were made in the 1995 Balance of Payments Statement, some of which also affected items in the main national accounts tables. The main ones were:
Much detailed work was done on improving the estimates of wages and salaries for the 1995 report. This led to significant revisions in several sectors. The most notable changes were as follows:
A major revision was also made in the 1995 report to the estimates of imputed rent of owner-occupied dwellings following methodology laid down in 1994 in a Decision of the EU Commission based on the results of the 1991 Census of Population.
The full ESA95 methodology was brought into effect in the 1998 report. This widened the scope of capital formation. Computer software, original literary and musical works, unsuccessful mineral exploration, military equipment similar to that used by civilian producers e.g. hospitals, are now included as capital investment.
The output of the insurance sector was increased by regarding the income from the investment of the technical reserves as additional imputed premium contributions.
Some payments to Government which were previously regarded as transfers e.g. passport fees, are now classified as payments for services while others (e.g. stamp taxes on banking transactions) are now regarded as taxes on products.
In NIE publications prior to NIE 2002, all food, including the food element of meals out was included under the category 'Food'. From NIE 2002 onwards the entire value of meals out (excluding the drinks element) is included with services under 'miscellaneous goods and services'.
Rent of dwellings was revised downwards in the 2003 report based on the results of the 2002 Census of Population. The Census of Population provides details of the rent paid by all tenants in respect of their dwellings as well as details of the size of and facilities in the dwellings. This allows the imputed rent of owner occupiers to be revised in line with current rates in similar rented dwellings.
The 2004 report introduced two significant methodological changes. Firstly, the volume (constant price) measures were calculated to base the previous year rather than to a fixed base as in previous publications. The annual volume changes were then chain linked to a reference year to produce indices and values of the main aggregates in 'constant' prices. This system was introduced throughout the EU to comply with EU Decision 98/715. The output and expenditure measures of GDP are calculated to base the previous year and the average of the two measures provides the official volume measure of GDP. A practical consequence of the chain linking system is that the chain linked aggregates are not equal to the sum of their chain linked components for years prior to the chain linked reference year (i.e. for years prior to 2019 for NIE 2020).
Secondly, a new method was introduced for estimating and allocating the interest margin that banks and similar entities earn by taking deposits at a relatively low nominal interest rate and making loans at a relatively high nominal rate (the so-called FISIM – Financial Intermediation Services Indirectly Measured). Under the previous methodology, this margin was presented in the accounts as though it were produced by the financial services branch, and entirely consumed, as intermediate consumption, by a notional branch which produced no output. The resulting notional loss (the item Adjustment for financial services in the editions before the 2004 report) completely offset the apparent profit earned by the financial services branch, and the net effect on GDP was therefore nil.
The FISIM methodology introduced in the 2004 report follows new guidelines set down in EU legislation. It involves some relatively minor changes in the method of calculating the total amount of FISIM. More importantly, the allocation to the consuming sectors was changed. Instead of being allocated to a notional sector, it is now allocated to the sectors of the depositors and borrowers, in proportion to the quantity of their deposits and loans, and to the margin between the de facto rate earned by or charged to the sector and a pure or FISIM-free reference rate, calculated as the de facto effective rate for inter-bank business. The effect on GDP depends therefore on which sectors consume the FISIM: consumption that constitutes final demand (such as by households in their capacity as consumers, by government, or by non-residents) adds to GDP, but intermediate consumption (such as by companies, or by households in their capacity as self-employed businesses or as owner-occupiers of dwellings) has no net effect. There is also some relatively small reduction in GDP arising from imports of FISIM, but the net effect for Ireland, as for most countries, is that the new methodology results in a net increase in GDP levels.
In the 2005 report some changes were made to the estimation methods for the profits of companies and self-employed. The main changes were:
These changes were implemented for the years 2000 to 2005. For the earliest years, the effect at the overall level was quite small, and it has not been possible to carry them through to years before 2000. Furthermore, while the effects on the branch results at the level published in this report (Tables 3.3 and 3.4) are also not very large (and in any event cannot readily be distinguished from routine revisions arising from more up-to-date source data), the effect on more detailed branch results may have been more significant.
Changes were also made to the estimation of the constant price output estimates (i.e. Table 3.6). New methodologies were developed for the calculation of the value added of the education and health services provided by government. The revised methodology for education uses pupil numbers, stratified by level of education in primary and second level, and by level of education and subject at third level to derive an overall volume index. This index is applied to base year unit costs. A quality adjustment is included in the calculation to take account of the number of teachers working in the education system.
The output of the health service is now being measured using a weighted index comprising measures of in-patient services, out-patient services and medical card services, applied to the base year contributions of these components to GVA. The value added for both education and health are captured as part of the total 'Other Services' figure in Table 3.6.
Changes were also made in the estimation of company and personal savings. In previous editions, item 124 (Undistributed profits of companies before tax) was estimated independently, and personal savings (item 129) was calculated as a residual. In the 2005 edition, additional independent information on households’ investment income and savings was used, based on initial work on setting up a series of non-financial sector accounts. This allowed personal income to be derived independently (ANA Table 12.7). This practice continues up to the present. Personal savings (being personal income minus personal expenditure) can now also be derived independently. Item 124 (the undistributed profits of companies) is derived as a residual.
A new table of final balance sheets for the institutional sectors of the economy was given (Table 31). This table has not been repeated in later editions as it was combined with new tables of financial flows and of non-financial sector accounts in a separate publication in April 2007. Updates of these series, non-financial and financial accounts on an institutional sector basis are issued in a release annually.
The 2006 report contained reclassifications due to the abolition of the Health Boards at the beginning of 2005 and their replacement by the Health Service Executive (HSE).
In the 2007 report the ESA codes for each item were introduced in the tables 1 to 7 (ANA Tables 3.1-3.7, 6.1-6.2 and 8.1-8.4). An explanation to the codes and their background is provided in The CSO Standard Classification of Industrial Activity is NACE.
In the 2008 report, the National Oil Reserves Agency (NORA), Irish Rail and the Irish-language television station TG4 were reclassified within Government, having previously been included in the commercial public sector.
This reclassification means that subsidies and capital grants to Irish Rail and TG4 are now recorded in the National Accounts as intra-Government flows, which are consolidated out. As a result, a reduction in expenditure in these categories totalling some €400 million may be seen in 2006, with corresponding increases in other expenditure categories.
In NIE 2008 an estimate of the consumption of smuggled tobacco products has been included in the 'tobacco' item.
In the 2009 report, improved data processing methodology enabled detailed data on Government transactions for the immediately preceding year (in this case 2009) to be given for the first time in Tables 19 to 29.
Meanwhile, the presentation of Table 21 (presenting receipts and expenditure of General Government) was enhanced:
a) with the addition of ESA codes for all appropriate items;
b) through splitting the item ‘Taxes on income and wealth (including social contributions)’ into ‘Taxes on income and wealth’ and ‘Social contributions’, and through giving a breakdown of ‘Expenditure on goods and services’ between ‘Wages, salaries and pensions’ and ‘Other’; and
c) by the inclusion and derivation of two key aggregates: General Government net lending/net borrowing (given in two versions, the second of which is the General Government Balance or deficit as defined under the EU regulation governing reporting of deficit and debt levels for the Excessive Deficit Procedure), and ‘Net expenditure by central and local government on current goods and services’ (already included as item 80 in NIE Table 5 but now shown in Table 21 derived from its components).
Finally, the Voluntary Hospitals have been reclassified from the Non-Profit Institutions Serving Households (NPISH) sector to the Central Government sub-sector of the General Government sector from 2005 onwards: this reclassification reflects the greater degree of control of these bodies exerted by Government following the creation of the Health Service Executive (HSE) on 1 January 2005.
This reclassification has the effect of increasing the levels of both receipts and expenditure for Government. Previously, only payments to the hospitals from Health Boards (to end-2004) or HSE were recorded as Government expenditure. Now, however, those payments are recorded from 2005 as intra-Government flows, but all the own-resource income of the voluntary hospitals is recorded as Government revenue, and all the expenditures of the hospitals - however funded - are recorded as Government expenditure.
The reclassification has also caused a change in the composition of Government expenditure: before, payments from HSE (including those to fund pay of hospital staff) were recorded as expenditure on goods and services, whereas now the expenditures of the hospitals are recorded directly, with wages and salaries as the largest component.
In the 2010 report estimates of depreciation (more properly called 'consumption of fixed capital') were taken from the CSO’s estimates of the Capital Stock of Fixed Assets. A 'perpetual inventory method' (PIM) is used to compile these estimates. Details of the methodology are provided in the background notes to the CSO’s annual release on the stock of fixed assets. A significant difference between the new estimates of depreciation and the former series is that property transfer costs (e.g. auctioneers’ and solicitors’ fees and stamp duties), being part of fixed capital investment, are depreciated in the year in which the charges are incurred. In the former series transfer costs on dwellings were not included at all in depreciation while transfer costs on other transactions were depreciated in line with individual company/business procedures.
The 2011 report introduced the NACE Rev. 2, classification of businesses in Tables 2 to 4 (ANA Tables 3.3-3.7). This replaced the national classification system for business activity which was used heretofore.
The results for the economy in these tables continued to be shown for five sectors whose titles remained the same as in previous releases and publications. However, the contents of the sectors changed and conform to the NACE Rev. 2 system.
One of the main changes to the classification was that the 'Publishing' industry was reclassified from 'Industry' to the sector 'Distribution, transport, software and communication'. In addition, enterprises in the 'Hotels and catering' sector and the 'Software' industry were reclassified from the 'Other Service' sector in the former system to the 'Distribution, transport, software and communications' sector. The overall effect on the tables was that the 'Distribution, transport, software and communication' sector accounted for a much larger share of the total GVA of the economy than heretofore while the sectors classified as 'Industry' and 'Other Services' accounted for a lower share.
In ANA Tables 3.3 to 3.7 the following is the correspondence with the relevant sections of NACE Rev. 2:
| Description | Section |
|---|---|
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | Section A |
| Industry | Sections B to F |
| Distribution, transport, software and communication | Sections G to J |
| Public Administration and Defence | Section O |
| Other Services | Sections K to N and P to U |
For further information on the NACE Rev. 2 classification of industrial activity, visit the CSO website: The CSO Standard Classification of Industrial Activity is NACE
Another new feature of this report was that the non fee paying Voluntary Secondary Schools are reclassified from the sector 'non profit institutions serving households' to the Government sector. This treatment was applied retrospectively to all years from 1995 onwards. The expenditure by such schools in providing education is now included with Net Government Expenditure e.g. items 80 and 93 whereas previously this expenditure was included in Personal Consumption Expenditure. (Items 79, 79(a), 92 and 92(a)).
Estimates were provided for the most recent year i.e. 2011 in Tables 9 and 12 unlike previous publications where figures for the latest year were not available. These tables provided, in particular, estimates of personal income and personal savings for the most recent year.
Two new tables on Government accounts were introduced in this report (Tables 21(a) and (b)). These were intended to complement the existing government finance statistics tables (Tables 19 to 28) by detailing:
A new Table 31 (now ANA Table 5.4) was also added. This provides gross value added at basic prices in current terms for 37 sectors of the economy according to the NACE Rev. 2 classification system. A much more detailed sectoral breakdown of GVA for the economy is displayed here than the five sectors shown in Table 3 (now ANA Table 3.4). It should be noted that Table 31 (ANA Table 5.4) provides valuations of GVA for the sectors at 'basic prices' in contrast to Table 3 (ANA Table 3.4) which uses the 'factor cost' valuation. 'Basic prices' is the valuation used in EU publications and differs from 'factor cost' in that overhead taxes (such as rates) are included in the basic prices valuations while overhead subsidies are excluded.
In the 2012 report a new Table 32 (now ANA Table 5.5) was added. This table provided gross value added at constant prices (chain linked and referenced to 2011) for 37 sectors of the economy. The same sectors as were shown in Table 31 which is in current prices. The table provides a detailed breakdown of real growth in the constituent sectors of the economy. It is similar to Table 4 (ANA Table 3.6) but provides a greater level of detail. The valuation used in Table 32 (as in Table 31) is 'basic prices'. The valuation is at 'factor cost' in Table 4 (ANA Table 3.6).
Estimates of rent of dwellings was also revised in the NIE 2012 report on foot of the results of the rents data collected in the 2011 Census of Population. Revisions to rents were made for each year back to 2007.
The seven public universities were reclassified from the Non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH) economic sector to the Non-financial corporations economic sector in NIE 2012. This change was made following an analysis by the CSO that resulted in these entities being classified as ‘market producers’ – that is, they cover a majority of their costs through their own sales of education and research services. This has resulted in a number of changes to the national accounts aggregates.
The principal changes are as follows:
1. Personal Consumption expenditure (items 79 and 92) was reduced. This item previously included the full costs of running the universities. It now only includes the student fees. The fees include actual fees paid plus the tuition fees paid by Government on behalf of students qualifying for a student grant. The latter are regarded as a benefit in kind paid by the Government to the student and paid onwards by the student to the Universities.
2. Government expenditure (items 80 and 93) was amended to include an element of the costs of research and development carried out by the universities. It is considered that the Government purchases these services as intermediate consumption.
3. Subsidies (items 31 and 34) was increased to cover subventions by the Government (apart from the grants for fees) to the cost of providing education and to cover some of the cost of research and development activities undertaken by the Universities.
The 2013 report introduced the ESA 2010 standards. National accounts are compiled in the EU according to the European System of National and Regional Accounts (ESA) framework. In 2014, the ESA 2010 framework replaced the ESA 95 version and all EU member states are required to adopt ESA 2010 by September 2014. ESA 2010 is the European version of the current UN mandated international standards for national accounts statistics, the System of National Accounts (SNA) 2008. The results for all years in this publication were published on an ESA 2010 basis. For Ireland, the ESA 2010 change with the greatest impact on gross domestic product (GDP) was the new treatment of research and development (R&D) expenditure. Under ESA95, R&D expenditure was treated as an ancillary cost to the main production of an enterprise, while under ESA 2010, R&D expenditure is recognised as capital investment.
In addition to the ESA 2010 changes, the results included additional estimates for illegal economic activities in line with the requirement from the European statistical agency, Eurostat to include such estimates in the National Accounts before September 2014.
The main ESA 2010 changes affecting the Government tables were: sector classification changes, the treatment of the transfer of pension obligations to government, the recording of payable tax credits and changes in the treatment of interest on swaps and forward rate agreements. A detailed description of these can be seen in the background notes to the July 2014 Quarterly Government Finance Statistics release and was also shown in the October 2014 The CSO Standard Classification of Industrial Activity is NACE.
In the NIE 2014 report, the publication changed from paper to an e-release format. In terms of data availability, some Government tables were incorporated into the GFS publication where better sector-specific data now exists. Also, Tables 8-12 and Tables 23-26 (renumbered from 30-32) were published in a separate release of tables in e-format with updated methodological notes.
The main methodological improvement in NIE 2014 was the implementation of the economic change of ownership basis for trade in aircraft. Under the new methodology, all trade in aircraft with the rest of the world are recorded as imports and exports of goods – regardless of where the aircraft is registered for aviation purposes. There are offsetting effects as both imports and exports will increase, but generally, the new methodology has a greater effect on aircraft imports with the inclusion of purchases of aircraft by resident operational leasing companies in Ireland’s imports of goods.
The main effects on the statistics of the new methodology was to:
The balance sheets of operational leasing companies that re-locate to Ireland were included in Ireland’s Balance Sheet (International Investment Position, Financial Accounts) at the time of re-location and their aircraft fleet was also added to Ireland’s capital stock.
The net increase to Imports of Goods and Services (item 84) in the National Accounts was offset by an increase in Capital Formation (item 81) and the new methodology had no effect generally on GDP and GNP. However, there was a significant increase to the National Accounts Provision for depreciation (item 28) based on the higher capital stock, which resulted in an offsetting change in the level of Net Value Added at Factor Cost (item 13/27) and related aggregates
In NIE 2014 the Compensation of Employees (COE) was allocated slightly differently than heretofore. In previous years COE was allocated at A64 level on a national set of rules, which was a variation on Eurostat’s ESA 1995 rules. From NIE 2014 the A64 classification was strictly followed in the line with ESA2010. This affected a number of A64 headings. The Bar trade which was previously allocated to the Retail Trade is now allocated to Hotels and Restaurant Services. The National Stud which was previously allocated to Other Services is now allocated to Agriculture. Some semi-state bodies are re-classified from Other Professional and Scientific Services to Public Administration. Some Local Authority Services previously allocated to Public Administration are now allocated A) to Collection, Purification and Distribution of Water, Sewage Services, B) Recreational, Cultural and Sporting Services, C) Sporting Services Amusement and Recreation.
In the NIE 2015 report the methodology used to calculate Compensation of Employees was changed. Previously the main sources were the structural business censuses of industrial production and services. From NIE 2015 the administrative P35 data collected by the Revenue Commissioners is used as the primary source of data. This revised methodology has been applied to estimates from 2011 onwards and has the effect of increasing the previous estimates in all years. The P35 datasets give a more census-level coverage of the labour market in Ireland and contain information (at a person-job level) on pay for tax and for Social Insurance purposes and the amount of mandatory Employer’s Contribution to Social Insurance. They contain details of commencements/cessations of employment, employer registration numbers (with links to employer information – e.g. NACE coding and institutional sector via the CSO’s Business Register) and details of tax paid. Other labour costs such as non-pension contributions of employers and benefits-in-kind are based on the results in the CSO’s Earnings, Hours and Employment Costs Survey (EHECS) at the detailed activity level (A88). In the case of pensions, data from the Irish Pensions Authority (IPA) is used directly in the estimate as it is deemed more accurate. Under-coverage in the EHECS is caused by retrospective changes in pension scheme rules, the latter of which are captured in the IPA data. One further adjustment is made for the imputed pensions charge for the pensions of public service employees. As this is an unfunded pension scheme, an estimate must be made in the accounts for the Government’s contribution to these pensions on behalf of public service employees. This estimate comes from the Government Accounts. Results are finally benchmarked to the employment series from the EHECS for sectors B-S. For the other sectors the QNHS employment numbers are used as controls.
The CSO also changed the methodology used to calculate FISIM to bring it into line with the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010) standards. This revised methodology has been applied to estimates from 2010 onwards. Up to now, the published Euro Interbank Offered Rates (Euribor) have been used as the basis for estimating the reference rate (i.e. the rate at which banks lend to each other) in the FISIM calculations. The estimates now use survey data, which provide details of loan and deposit principal amounts and their associated interest flows, to calculate both the reference rate and the loan and deposit rates charged/offered to customers. Data is collected in a joint survey by the Central Bank of Ireland and the CSO. This change in calculation methods has generally given a higher estimate of the reference rate, as Irish banks were not obtaining the very low Euribor rate prevailing for these years following the financial crisis. A higher reference rate implies a lower FISIM margin on loans. Since most of the FISIM is earned on loans, the estimate of the total domestic FISIM charge has been reduced. The revised approach has drawn on improved data for imports and exports of FISIM; there are upward revisions to both measures resulting in an overall increase in net exports. The decrease in domestic FISIM and increase in net exports offset each other in their overall GDP impact.
For the first time in April 2016 the CSO published detailed revenues and expenditures of government by sub-sector (central and local government) in the annual Government Finance Statistics release, with an updated version of the new tables published in a new Government Income and Expenditure release in July of that year. These replace Tables 19 to 21 of this NIE publication. The data in that release will be aligned to this NIE (e.g. net current government expenditure).
The NIE 2016 report, introduced changes to tables 2, 3 and 4 (now ANA 3.3, 3.4 & 3.6).
Tables 2 to 4 show a full A10 breakdown which replaces the five sectors used up to NIE 2015. The correspondence with the relevant sections of NACE Rev.2 is as follows:
| Description | Section |
|---|---|
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | Section A |
| Industry (excluding Construction) | Sections B,C,D,E |
| Of which: Manufacturing | Section C |
| Construction | Section F |
| Distribution, transport, hotels and restaurants | Sections G,H,I |
| Information and communication | Section J |
| Financial and insurance activities | Section K |
| Real estate activities | Section L |
| Professional, admin and support services | Sections M,N |
| Public admin, education and health | Sections O,P,Q |
| Arts, entertainment and other services | Sections R,S,T |
For further information on the NACE Rev. 2 classification of industrial activity, visit the CSO website:
The CSO Standard Classification of Industrial Activity is NACE.
There has been the addition of Annex 1 which shows Modified GNI as well as its components.
Modified Gross National Income at current market prices is equal to Gross National Income at current market prices less the factor income of redomiciled companies, less depreciation on research and development related intellectual property imports and less depreciation on aircraft related to aircraft leasing.
The NIE 2017 report introduced changes to table 1 (ANA Table 3.1), 9, 10, 11 and 12 (ANA Tables 12.4-12.7).
Previously items 2 and 9 had consisted of D.11 and part of D.12 and items 3 and 10 had consisted of the remainder of D.12 for the agricultural and non-agricultural sectors respectively. Now items 2 and 9 consist solely of D.11 and items 3 and 10 consist solely of D.12. The difference from previously is that employer pension contributions are no longer being allocated with the D.11 items.
The calculation of the GNI* indicator will be modified in the NIE 2017 annual results, through an expansion of the base used when calculating the depreciation related to intangibles. The basis for the GNI* depreciation adjustment will be extended to include trade in R&D-related IP products and imports of R&D services, increasing the depreciation amount subtracted as part of the transition from GNI to GNI*.
Tables 9 to 12 have been redesigned to align them with European System of Accounts (ESA) definitions. Most items in the previous tables 9 to 12 are found in similar positions in the new tables. Some items have been replaced by conceptually similar statistics that are aligned to ESA definitions. The items in the previous tables are listed below with their equivalents in the new tables.
Table 9 - Household Income and Expenditure - (ANA Table 12.4)
Table 9 has been redrawn to show the saving of household calculated from elements of household income and expenditure, while the previous Table 9 showed a similar statistic by deduction of non-household transactions from the total net national product. The relationship of net national product to household income can still be seen in the new table 12.
Items in the previous table 9 (Personal Income and Expenditure)
119. Net national product at factor cost before adjustment for stock appreciation: Net national product is item 15 in table 1 and the adjustment for stock appreciation is item 43 in the new table 11.
120. Government trading and investment income is item 58 in the new table 12.
121. National debt interest is item 24 in the new table 10.
122. Transfer income (including net transfers from the rest of the world): this excludes taxes (D.5) and Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI, part of D.61: these taxes and PRSI are item 127 in the previous table 9) and it incorporates market-produced social transfers in kind (D.632, table 5, item 79(b)), such as the Drugs Payment Scheme. Transfers in the new table are items 2, 3, 4, 5 and 11. In the new table, taxes are included in item 2 and PRSI in item 3. Market-produced social transfers in kind from government are not included in the new table 9. There are also differences in the allocation of some taxes on income and wealth between corporations and households in the old and new tables. The transition is shown in Table 9.1.
| Table 9.1: Transition from previous table 9 item 122 transfer income (€ millions) | |||||||
| Description | ESA Code | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 † |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PREVIOUS | |||||||
| Previous table 9 item 122 transfer income< | 26,040 | 25,264 | 24,805 | 24,456 | 24,744 | 24,704 | |
| + TRANSITION ITEMS | |||||||
| previous table 9 item 127 taxes on personal income and wealth | - 25,128 | - 25,955 | - 28,219 | - 29,503 | - 30,936 | - 32,427 | |
| market-produced social transfers in kind (Item 79(b) in table 5) | D.632_S.13 | - 5,219 | - 4,986 | - 5,102 | - 5,412 | - 5,696 | - 6,060 |
| Taxes on income and wealth re-allocated between households and corporations | 895 | 741 | 972 | 865 | 940 | 942 | |
| = NEW | |||||||
| Total transfers new table 9 (items 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 12) | - 3,412 | - 4,936 | - 7,545 | - 9,593 | - 10,948 | - 12,841 | |
| of which | |||||||
| New table 9 item 2. Income and wealth taxes | D.5_S.1M | - 18,029 | - 18,357 | - 19,930 | - 20,605 | - 21,240 | - 22,150 |
| New table 9 item 3. Pension and other social contributions paid | D.61_S.1M | - 14,945 | - 15,472 | - 16,185 | - 16,565 | - 16,646 | - 17,812 |
| New table 9 item 4. Pension and other social benefits received | D.62_S.1M | 27,138 | 26,652 | 25,949 | 26,098 | 25,725 | 26,262 |
| New table 9 item 5. Other transfers (net) | D.7_S1M net | 283 | 308 | 418 | - 584 | - 394 | - 1,039 |
| New table 9 item 11. Adjustment for saving in pension funds | D.8_S.1M | 2,141 | 1,934 | 2,204 | 2,064 | 1,607 | 1,898 |
123. Private income: this is replaced by the net balance of primary incomes (B.5n) for non-government institutional units (financial corporations, non-financial corporations, households and non-profit institutions). This is the closest ESA equivalent to the item in the previous table 9. Private income is item 56 in the new table 12.
124. Undistributed profits of companies before tax: this is now calculated according to the ESA concept of the net balance of primary incomes (B.5n) for financial corporations and non-financial corporations. This is item 55 in the new Table 12.
125. Personal income: this has been replaced in the new Table 9 (item 6), by net disposable income (B.6n) of households, which is the closest ESA equivalent.
126. Personal consumption of goods and services: this is item 9 in the new table 9.
127. Taxes on personal income and wealth: this is made up of taxes (D.5) and PRSI (part of social contributions, D.61). In the new table 9, the D.5 taxes are item 2 and PRSI is included in item 3.
128. Total personal expenditure: there is no equivalent of this item in the new tables.
129. Personal savings: this has been replaced in the new Table 9 by gross saving (B.8g) of households (item 13), which is the closest ESA equivalent. The transition between personal savings and gross saving of household is shown in table 9.2.
| Table 9.2 Transition from previous table 9 item 129 personal savings (€ millions) | |||||||
| Description | ESA Code | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PREVIOUS | |||||||
| Previous table 9 item 129 personal savings | 7,234 | 3,576 | 1,466 | 1,698 | 907 | 2,646 | |
| + TRANSITION ITEMS | |||||||
| adjustments to independent traders' and rent income | - 686 | - 856 | - 877 | - 1,022 | - 760 | - 901 | |
| Taxes on income and wealth re-allocated between households and corporations | 895 | 741 | 972 | 865 | 940 | 942 | |
| consumption of fixed capital | P.51c_S.1M | 3,853 | 3,891 | 4,167 | 4,276 | 4,523 | 4,772 |
| statistical discrepancy | - 1,467 | 1,004 | 1,586 | 1,987 | 2,114 | 2,773 | |
| = NEW | |||||||
| New table 9 item 12 gross saving of households | B.8g_S.1M | 9,829 | 8,356 | 7,314 | 7,805 | 7,725 | 10,233 |
Items in previous table 10 - Net Current Income and Expenditure of Central and Local Government - (ANA Table 12.5)
130. Taxes on income and wealth (including social insurance contributions): The 'taxes' on income part are shown separately in the new table 10 (item 13). The 'social insurance contributions' are PRSI, which is included with other social contributions as item 14 in the new table 10.
131. Taxes on expenditure (including rates) are called taxes on production and imports (including rates), and are item 15 in the new table 10.
132. Net trading and investment income: investment income is item 17 in the new table 10. 'Trading income' is part of Gross Value added (item 16) in the new table 10. Gross value added also includes compensation of employees (item 20 in the new table 10) and total consumption of fixed capital (shown in table 10.1 and in government finance statistics).
133. Current transfers from the rest of the world to central and local government: These are transfers for international cooperation (ESA item D.74), such as European Social Fund transfers. They are included in the D.7 total current transfers received in the new table 10 (item 18). The new item also includes transfers received by government from domestic sources.
134. Total income has been replaced by current income (item 19) in the new table 10. The new item includes total gross value added and all transfers received, so it is higher than the equivalent item in the old table.
135. Subsidies (excluding EU subsidies) are item 21 in the new table 10.
136. Transfer payments (including transfers to the rest of the world) and national debt interest: this value included ESA property income (D.4), social transfers (D.6) and other transfers (D.7). The equivalent items are shown in items 22, 23 and 24 in the new table 10. The previous item 136 also included market-produced social transfers in kind (D.632, table 5, item 79(b). Item 136 was reduced by non-PRSI social contributions received. It also included other transfers (D.7) paid less other transfers received, excluding receipts for international cooperation (D.74 received). The transition to item 23 in the new table 10 is shown in table 10.1.
| Table 10.1 Transition from previous table 10 item 136. Transfer payments (including transfers to the rest of the world) and national debt interest) (€ millions) | |||||||
| Description | ESA Code | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PREVIOUS | |||||||
| Previous table 10 item 136. Transfer payments (including transfers to the rest of the world) and national debt interest | 35,977 | 35,952 | 35,159 | 34,722 | 34,579 | 35,021 | |
| + TRANSITION ITEMS | |||||||
| market-produced social transfers in kind (Item 79(b) in table 5) | D.632 | - 5,219 | - 4,986 | - 5,102 | - 5,412 | - 5,696 | - 6,060 |
| Social transfers in cash | D.62_S.13 | - 24,235 | - 23,540 | - 22,974 | - 23,011 | - 22,741 | - 23,008 |
| Total non-PRSI social contributions received | 3,075 | 3,111 | 3,036 | 2,876 | 2,816 | 2,817 | |
| Total miscellaneous transfer payments received | D.7_S.13 | 254 | 150 | 266 | 294 | 244 | 247 |
| less current international cooperation | D.74_S.13 | - 46 | - 11 | - 36 | - 93 | - 32 | - 34 |
| National Debt Interest | D.4_S.13 | - 7,298 | - 7,760 | - 7,589 | - 6,849 | - 6,165 | - 5,809 |
| = NEW | |||||||
| New table 10 item 23. Transfers paid | D.7_S.13 | 2,507 | 2,915 | 2,759 | 2,528 | 3,005 | 3,173 |
137. Net current expenditure on goods and services: the equivalent item is the total final consumption expenditure (item 25) in the new table 10. Item 25 in the new table also includes market-produced social transfers in kind (D.632, table 5, item 79(b)).
138. Total expenditure: the equivalent item is current expenditure (item 26) in the new table 10. The differences are described above.
139. Central and local government savings: this has been replaced by the ESA concept of gross saving (B.8g) of government, item 27 in the new table 10. This item in the new table is gross of consumption of fixed capital. See table 10.2
| Table 10.2 Transition from previous table 10 item 139. Central and Local Government Savings (€ millions) | |||||||
| Description | ESA Code | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PREVIOUS | |||||||
| Previous table 10 item 139. Central and local government savings | - 12,739 | - 10,128 | - 5,666 | - 1,111 | 175 | 1,303 | |
| + TRANSITION ITEM | |||||||
| Consumption of fixed capital | P.51c_S.13 | 3,107 | 3,167 | 3,317 | 3,515 | 3,722 | 3,945 |
| = NEW | |||||||
| New table 10 item 27. Gross saving of government | B.8g_S.13 | - 9,631 | - 6,962 | - 2,349 | 2,403 | 3,897 | 5,248 |
Items in previous table 11 - Savings and Capital Formation - (ANA Table 12.6)
Items 140, 141, 142 Personal, companies' and government savings before adjustment for stock appreciation: these are replaced in the new Table 11 by the ESA concept of gross saving (B.8g) for each sector after adjustment for stock appreciation (items 28, 29 and 30 in the new table 11). The differences between the previous personal saving and the new household saving are described in the transition for table 9 above, and the differences for government saving are described in the transition for table 10 above. The full computation for saving for all sectors are shown in the Non-Financial Institutional Sector Accounts.
143. Net national savings before adjustment for stock appreciation: Net national savings are shown in table 7 (item 118) and the adjustment for stock appreciation in the new table 11 (item 43).
144. Adjustment for stock appreciation is item 43 in the new table 11.
145. Net national savings are item 118 in table 7.
146. Provision for depreciation is item 28 in table 2
147. Net foreign capital transfers are item 33 in the new table 11.
148. Net foreign disinvestment is item 35 in the new table 11.
149. Statistical discrepancy is item 31 in the new table 11.
Items 150 to 157 are shown in the new table 11 (Items 37 to 44).
The items from table 11.1 are also incorporated in the new table 11.
Items in previous table 12 - Distribution of Personal Income and its relationship to Net National Product at Factor Cost - (ANA Table 12.7)
Remuneration of employees is items 45, 46 and 47 in the new table 12. The split into agriculture and non-agriculture is shown in table 1 (items 2, 3, 9 and 10).
Income of independent traders is item 48 in the new table 12 and is calculated according to the ESA concept of net mixed income (B.3n). In the new table an adjustment is made for the profits of agricultural corporations (the old table attributed all agricultural profits to independent traders) and the income of quasi-corporations (mainly large partnerships) is excluded from this income.
Interest earned (prior to adjustment for FISIM) and other investment income received are item 50 in the new table 12.
Adjustment for FISIM on interest earned is item 51 in the new table 12.
Imputed rent of households is item 49 in table 12.7. The equivalent item in the previous table (Table 12 in NIE 2020) was 'Rent of private dwellings'. That item incorporated real rent of individual landlords (non-company non-government landlords). This real rent is now excluded from here and included with the income of independent traders in this table (item 48). In even earlier versions (up to and including NIE 2016), Rent of private dwellings also included real rent on dwellings received by corporations.
Interest paid (prior to adjustment for FISIM) is item 52 in the new table 12.
Adjustment for FISIM on interest paid is item 53 in the new table 12.
Current transfers to households (including net transfers from the rest of the world) are shown in the new table 9 (see the note on item 122 in the previous table 9 above).
Statistical discrepancy is item 59 in the new table 12.
Personal income of households and private non-profit institutions: this has been replaced in the new Table 9 (item 6), by net disposable income (B.6n) of households and private non-profit institutions, which is the closest ESA equivalent. The net income of households in the new table 12 (item 54) is before all secondary income (ESA transactions D.5, D.6 and D.7). The transition is shown in table 12.1.
| Table 12.1 Transition from previous Personal Income (€ millions) | |||||||
| Description | ESA Code | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PREVIOUS | |||||||
| Previous table 12. Personal Income | 117,187 | 115,386 | 118,431 | 123,559 | 128,751 | 134,969 | |
| + TRANSITION ITEMS | |||||||
| adjustment to income of independent traders for agriculture, quasi-corporations | - 614 | - 761 | - 759 | - 871 | - 576 | - 729 | |
| adjustment to rent for income of corporations | - 72 | - 94 | - 119 | - 151 | - 184 | - 171 | |
| current transfers (see table 9.1) | - 26,040 | - 25,264 | - 24,805 | - 24,456 | - 24,744 | - 24,704 | |
| Statistical Discrepancy | - 1,467 | 1,004 | 1,586 | 1,987 | 2,114 | 2,773 | |
| = NEW | |||||||
| New table 12 item 54. Net Income of Households | B.5n_S.1M | 88,994 | 90,271 | 94,335 | 100,068 | 105,361 | 112,139 |
Undistributed profits of companies: is item 55 in the new table 12. This is now calculated according to the ESA concept of the net balance of primary incomes (B.5n) for financial corporations and non-financial corporations.
Private income: is item 56 in the new table 12. This is now calculated according to the ESA concept of the net balance of primary incomes (B.5n) for non-government institutional units (financial corporations, non-financial corporations, households and non-profit institutions).
National debt interest is item 57 in the new table 12.
Adjustment for stock appreciation is item 43 in the new table 11.
Net national product at factor cost is item 60 in the new table 12.
The NIE 2018 report introduced changes to tables 1 (ANA Table 3.1) and 3 (ANA Table 6.1) and introduced a new chapter on revisions.
On table 1 the item Withdrawals from quasi corporations had previously been included as part of item 5, self employed earnings, but is now included as part of item 9, Wages and salaries.
Table 3 (ANA Table 6.1) has now been expanded to include output and intermediate consumption for each sector detailed there. As part of our work to produce output method estimates of GDP from this year table 3 will include estimates of output and intermediate consumption produced using our output method.
A new chapter has been included on revisions. This contains four tables which will show the revisions between NIE 2017 and NIE 2018 for tables 3, 4, 5 and 6 (ANA Table 3.4, 3.6, 8.1 and 8.3) from 2013 to 2017 expressed as a percentage of the GDP in each year.
In the report NIE 2019 we introduced changes to table 4 (ANA Table 6.2) and added a new table to the annex.
Table 4 has been expanded to include initial estimates of output and intermediate consumption for each sector detailed there. This is part of our continuing work to produce a fully independent output method to complement the income and expenditure methods.
Our annex showing the table Modified Gross National Income at current market prices (Annex 1, ANA Table 2.2) has been expanded to include a table showing Modified Gross National Income at constant market prices (Annex 2, ANA Table 2.4). This table was previously published as a separate information note but is now incorporated in the NIE report.
Since the NIE 2015, the compensation of employees estimate as been based on a comprehensive payroll data from Revenue (P35 administrative dataset). This P35 dataset provides anonymised information on jobs on an annual basis for years 2011 to 2018. Beginning in the year 2019, a new version of this data is available on a monthly basis and provides similar type information on jobs in the economy. The compensation of employees (ESA2010 code D1) comprises wages and salaries (D11) and employers social contributions (D12). The D12 includes payments made by employers on behalf of their employees such as statutory pay-related social insurance and pension contributions.
The National Accounts IT Project has enabled Government Accounts Compilations and Outputs Division to review, develop and streamline its data sources and compilation methods. The more timely Revenue dataset as described in the paragraph above leads to more real time quarterly estimates of D.1 and provides consistency between annual and quarterly estimates. The sub-components of D.1 were also revised in this methodological review - Imputed Employer Pension Contributions (D.1221); Imputed Employer Non-Pension Contributions (D.1222) for the whole economy and government employee social contributions. This review has culminated in a robust method for the compilation of the components of D.1 for General Government (2011 - 2019) that is consistent with estimates of D.1 for other sectors of the economy.
Education estimates were revised as part of a requirement to produce a COICOP classification of education expenditure. Additional administrative and HBS data were incorporated along with new BOP data on international students.
In NIE2020 CSO has introduced new deflators and derived the measure Net National Income (NNI) at constant prices. This measure removes all depreciation from Gross National Income (GNI), and goes a step further than GNI* at constant prices as an adjusted growth measure, however it has the advantage of international comparability over the national deglobalised measure GNI*.
A new format Table 13 (ANA Table 10.1) has been introduced with consumption product classifications following the international Classification of individual consumption by purpose (COICOP), see the Eurostat Glossary for more information on this classification. This increased breakdown also allows users to derive the international measure Actual Individual Consumption, shown in Table 13 and explained the CSO Information Note on Actual Individual Consumption.
ANA2021, the next edition renamed the publication from National Income and Expenditure (NIE) to Annual National Accounts (ANA). This is to reflect the additional data and development of the annual output method, which complements our income and expenditure data. We have also grouped the material to present it under each method of compilation, e.g. showing the wages and profits data under the income method. Another development this year is a permanent link on PxStat to the latest annual national accounts data, rather than renaming it each year.
ANA2021 also contains new estimates of volume measures for the health sector, Nace Rev2 '86' Human health activities.
ANA2021 also introduced small changes to Gross Fixed Capital Formation to fully align the national presentation with the data transmitted to Eurostat under the ESA2010 regulation.
Table 8.1 and 8.3 - Net additions to the breeding stocks have been removed as a line item from this table. They are now included in gross domestic fixed capital formation (GFCF). Valuables have been reclassified from GFCF. They are now included in value of physical changes in stocks. These changes have been made to align with European system of accounts 2010 (ESA 2010) classifications.
Table 12.6 - Cultivated biological resources have been reclassified from value of physical changes in agricultural stocks. They are now included with other home produced capital goods and services. Valuables have been reclassified from other home produced capital services. They are now included with increase in value of stocks and work in progress (incl. EU intervention stocks). These changes have been made to align with European system of accounts 2010 (ESA 2010) classifications.
Table 11.1 and 11.3 - Cultivated biological resources have been included as a new line item in this table. They have been reclassified from value of physical changes in stocks on farms. They are now included gross domestic fixed capital formation (GFCF). Valuables have been reclassified from GFCF. They are now included with value of physical changes in other stocks. These changes have been made to align with European system of accounts 2010 (ESA 2010) classifications.
Table 11.2 and 11.4 - Cultivated biological resources have been reclassified from value of physical changes in stocks to be included with gross domestic fixed capital formation (GFCF). They are now classified in GFCF NACE REV. 2 section A. Valuables have been reclassified from GFCF (NACE REV. 2 section R) to be included with value of physical changes in stocks. These changes have been made to align with European system of accounts 2010 (ESA 2010) classifications.
In the external account imports and exports of merchandise are expressed at constant prices by using import and export unit value indices. Invisible (i.e. non-merchandise) non-factor items are deflated separately by the most appropriate price index on consideration of the nature of the flow in question. The aggregate value of the imports of goods and non-factor services at constant prices is then determined and a general price index for the aggregate is deduced. Similarly, a general price index for the aggregate value of the exports of goods and non-factor services is calculated.
This implied price index for exports of goods and non-factor services is then used to deflate net factor income from abroad in years when this item is negative. In years when it is positive it is deflated by the implied price index for imports of goods and non-factor services. Net current international transfers are similarly deflated. The rationale for this approach is that a positive net factor income flow can be used to finance imports while a negative net factor income flow must be met with increased exports. From the year 1999 onwards exceptional income payments have had to be deflated separately.
In the 1965 report estimates of the gross national product at constant prices subdivided by industrial sector were included for the first time. These estimates were compiled by aggregating the contributions, to the gross national product at factor cost, valued at constant prices, of the different industries, and of net factor income from the rest of the world, and adjusting to market prices by adding taxes on expenditure and deducting subsidies, both valued at constant prices.
Two principal methods have been used to derive gross value added at factor cost at constant prices as given in the tables.
The first method, which may be called the double deflation method, consists of valuing both the output and the input (expenses) of the sector at base year prices (now previous year prices). The difference between output and input is the gross product, gross signifying that depreciation has not been deducted as an expense. This is the basic approach used for the agricultural sector and for rent of dwellings.
The second method consists of estimating an index of volume of output for the sector for a series of years and then multiplying the base year (now previous year) gross value added by these index numbers to derive the gross value added figures for other years. This method is widely used since, for most sectors, there is considerable difficulty in expressing the inputs at constant prices. Clearly, if at constant prices the ratio of input to output remains unchanged, both methods would give identical results.
The estimates for agriculture incorporate the official indices for agricultural output. In the case of industry, the estimates are based on the official industrial production indices adjusted for the impact of royalties on intermediate consumption. The choice of suitable volume indicators on which to base volume index numbers in certain other sectors, however, raises conceptual problems which have not yet been solved satisfactorily. The service type industries include distribution, transport, software and communication, insurance, banking and finance, education, health, professional and miscellaneous services and public administration and defence. In certain industries, e.g. transport, suitable volume indicators such as passenger-miles and freight tonne-miles are available; in other industries it is more difficult to obtain volume indicators.
Particular difficulty is experienced in estimating the output of public administration and defence and other services provided by central and local government. In most of these cases no reasonable measure of output is available, the practice adopted is to apply an index of employment, where available, to the base year remuneration. Where reliable data are not available the implied index of rates of remuneration is used to deflate current values. The effect of using this method is to assume no increase in productivity. However, since NIE 2005, special methodologies have been developed for the calculation of the value added of the education and health services provided by government. The revised methodology for education uses pupil numbers, stratified by level of education in primary and second level, and by level of education and subject at third level to derive an overall volume index. This index is applied to base year unit costs. A quality adjustment is included in the calculation to take account of the number of teachers working in the education system.
The output of the health service is measured using a weighted index comprising measures of in-patient services, out-patient services and medical card services, applied to the base year remuneration. The value added for both education and health are captured as part of the total “Public admin, education and health” figure in Table 4 (ANA Table 3.6).
In order to derive gross national product at constant market prices, net factor income from the rest of the world, taxes on expenditure and subsidies are also valued at constant prices. The method of expressing net factor income from abroad at constant prices has already been explained in the section External transactions at constant prices. Where taxes on expenditure and subsidies relate to particular goods, the rate of tax or subsidy per unit quantity of the item taxed or subsidised, if available, is used to derive an index to deflate current values. In the case of ad valorem duties both the rate of duty and an appropriate price index are used to compile constant price data. If neither of these methods of deflation can be used the estimation of a constant price series is made by using volume indicators appertaining to the relevant industry or by deflating by a suitable price index. In a few cases, where the taxes on expenditure or subsidies were not in operation in the base year, they are by definition, omitted from the constant price series.
Learn about our data and confidentiality safeguards, and the steps we take to produce statistics that can be trusted by all.