The results contained in this release reflect some of the economic impacts of the COVID-19 situation. For further information see Background Notes.
Tax revenue increased to €22.0 billion in Quarter 3 (Q3) 2022, €4.2 billion higher than Q3 2021.
Expenditure on COVID-19 measures was largely absent from Q3 2022 as schemes were phased out in the first half of the year.
With the closure of the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme, expenditure on subsidies decreased to €0.5 billion in Q3 2022, €1.3 billion lower than in Q3 2021. This is in line with pre-pandemic levels.
| Table 1.1 General Government Finances | ||||||||
| 2021 Q1 | 2021 Q2 | 2021 Q3 | 2021 Q4 | 2022 Q1 | 2022 Q2 | 2022 Q3 | ||
| Deficit/Surplus | € billion | -6.3 | -2.3 | -2.7 | 4.2 | -0.2 | -0.9 | 2.7 |
| % of quarterly GDP | -6.2 | -2.3 | -2.3 | 3.8 | -0.2 | -0.8 | 2.0 | |
| seasonally adjusted (€ billion) | -4.4 | -1.9 | -1.3 | 0.2 | 1.9 | -0.4 | 4.1 | |
| Gross debt | € billion | 230.3 | 234.5 | 236.3 | 236.1 | 235.1 | 236.6 | 236.1 |
| % of annualised GDP | 60.4 | 58.9 | 57.4 | 55.4 | 53.1 | 51.2 | 49.0 | |
| Net debt | € billion | 191.2 | 193.4 | 193.9 | 192.3 | 194.0 | 189.8 | 187.0 |
| % of annualised GDP | 50.2 | 48.6 | 47.1 | 45.1 | 43.8 | 41.1 | 38.9 | |
With revenue of €28.5 billion and expenditure of €25.8 billion, Q3 2022 saw a surplus of €2.7 billion. This surplus is an improvement on the €2.7 billion deficit in the same quarter in 2021, driven mainly by an increase in tax revenues of €4.2 billion. Expenditure was down €0.8 billion on the same quarter in 2021 mainly due to a decrease in subsidies of €1.3 billion. (see Table 1.2).
Expenditure on COVID-19 measures for Q3 2022 amounted to approximately €0.5 billion, which was €2.1 billion less than in Q3 2021. This reduction is mainly due to the closure of both the Pandemic Unemployment Payment and Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) earlier in 2022.
This release includes seasonally adjusted figures for general government total revenue, total expenditure, and the deficit/surplus (see Table 1.2). A comparison between the seasonally adjusted and non-seasonally adjusted balance is shown in Figure 1.1. For details regarding the methodology used in producing the seasonally adjusted series, please see background notes.
| GG Balance | SA GG Balance | |
| Q1 2020 | -3.8 | -2.2 |
| Q2 2020 | -6.7 | -6.3 |
| Q3 2020 | -6.6 | -5 |
| Q4 2020 | -1.7 | -5.5 |
| Q1 2021 | -6.3 | -4.5 |
| Q2 2021 | -2.3 | -1.6 |
| Q3 2021 | -2.7 | -1.1 |
| Q4 2021 | 4.2 | 0 |
| Q1 2022 | -0.2 | 2.1 |
| Q2 2022 | -0.9 | -0.6 |
| Q3 2022 | 2.7 | -0.6 |
The general government gross debt to GDP ratio was 49.0% at the end of the quarter, a decrease of 2.2 percentage points from the end of Q2 2022. With nominal debt only falling slightly, this reduction was driven almost entirely by the increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Over that same time frame, the general government net debt to GDP ratio moved from 41.1% to 38.9%.
| GG Gross Debt | GG Net Debt | |
| Q1 2020 | 58.7 | 48.8 |
| Q2 2020 | 62 | 48.9 |
| Q3 2020 | 61.1 | 49.1 |
| Q4 2020 | 58.4 | 49.8 |
| Q1 2021 | 60.4 | 50.2 |
| Q2 2021 | 58.9 | 48.6 |
| Q3 2021 | 57.4 | 47.1 |
| Q4 2021 | 55.4 | 45.1 |
| Q1 2022 | 53.1 | 43.8 |
| Q2 2022 | 51.2 | 41.1 |
| Q3 2022 | 49 | 38.8 |
Government accounts are compiled in the EU according to the European System of National Accounts 2010 (ESA2010) framework.
This release contains quarterly Government Finance Statistics (GFS) and is consistent with General Government Deficit and Debt levels reported at end September 2022 under the EU regulation governing the Excessive Deficit Procedure and the annual Government Finance Statistics (October 2022 results).
A full description of the concepts and definitions used in the production of these statistics is provided in the Background Notes.
Learn about our data and confidentiality safeguards, and the steps we take to produce statistics that can be trusted by all.
Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (20 January 2023) released Government Finance Statistics Quarterly results for Quarter 3 2022.
Commenting on the release, Jason Sibley, Statistician in the Government Accounts Compilation & Outputs Division, said:
"Today’s results for Quarter 3 (Q3) 2022 show increased tax revenue of €22.0 billion, which is €4.2 billion higher than Q3 2021. Expenditure on COVID-19 measures continued to decrease to approximately €0.5 billion in Q3 2022, €2.1 billion less than the spend in Q3 2021.
Expenditure on Subsidies in Q3 2022 decreased to €0.5 billion, €1.3 billion less than in Q3 2021. The decrease in subsidies is due to the ending of the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme. Subsidies are now in line with pre-pandemic levels.
The general government surplus was €2.7 billion in the third quarter of 2022."