Before the introduction of the Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure (MIP), the EU monitored economic developments within the economies of member states through the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP). This framework now operates in tandem with the MIP and sets thresholds on both government deficits (3% of GDP) and government debt levels (60% of GDP). The reporting of the Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP) statistics, which is a requirement for all EU member states, forms part of the preventive arm of the SGP. The corrective arm of the Stability and Growth Pact ensures that member states adopt appropriate policy responses to correct excessive deficits (and/or debts) by implementing the EDP.
| General Government Debt (% of GDP) | Threshold | |
| 2009 | 61.5433296884034 | 60 |
| 2010 | 85.9881429548459 | 60 |
| 2011 | 111.063690748314 | 60 |
| 2012 | 119.941484406931 | 60 |
| 2013 | 119.865585657639 | 60 |
| 2014 | 104.393729092588 | 60 |
| 2015 | 76.7231590321556 | 60 |
| 2016 | 73.8758253358192 | 60 |
| 2017 | 67.7691515363222 | 60 |
| 2018 | 63.5658277650848 | 60 |
Source publication: Government Finance Statistics Annual, October 2019
Get the data: StatBank GFA13 (Government Debt), StatBank N1805 (GDP)
This indicator is part of the SGP which was introduced in 1993. It is the same as Headline Indicator 9 from the MIP Scoreboard, with the same threshold. Ireland has breached the 60% threshold of the Stability and Growth Pact for general government (GG) debt as a percentage of GDP since 2009, although this indicator has decreased in value since 2013. It should be noted that the main driver of the decrease in 2015 was the large increase in Ireland's GDP, as there was only a small decrease in the level of government debt in the year. Similarly, decreases in the value of this indicator since 2015 were mainly caused by growth in GDP. The value of government debt increased in 2017 and 2018 by 0.3% and 2.3% respectively.
| Annual Gross Debt (% of GDP) | Annual Net Debt (% of GDP) | |
| 2009 | 61.5433296884034 | 36.9750912693047 |
| 2010 | 85.9881429548459 | 66.5728662390003 |
| 2011 | 111.063690748314 | 79.5576811628138 |
| 2012 | 119.941484406931 | 87.1096872929944 |
| 2013 | 119.865585657639 | 90.0618386850791 |
| 2014 | 104.393729092588 | 86.0818815509861 |
| 2015 | 76.7231590321556 | 65.8467544029859 |
| 2016 | 73.8758253358192 | 65.1639404602406 |
| 2017 | 67.7691515363222 | 59.2496239032615 |
| 2018 | 63.5658277650848 | 54.8889327794888 |
Source publication: Government Finance Statistics Annual, October 2019
Get the data: StatBank GFA13 (Government Debt), StatBank N1805 (GDP)
Net government debt is gross government debt minus the value of financial assets (corresponding to the categories of financial liabilities which comprise gross government debt). The gap between gross and net debt peaked in 2012 at 32.8% of GDP. This gap declined steadily from 2013 to 2016 and levelled out in 2017 and 2018 at approximately 8.5% of GDP. In 2018, general government net debt increased by €1.8bn to €177.9bn (54.9% of GDP). This increase was composed of a €4.6bn increase in GG debt and an increase of €2.8bn in financial assets, mainly cash deposits, over the same period.
| Annual General Government Surplus/Deficit (% of GDP) (Left axis) | Threshold (left axis) | Annual Revenue (right axis) | Annual Expenditure (right axis) | |
| 2009 | -13.8241397757803 | -3 | 56.511 | 80.027 |
| 2010 | -32.0594758304915 | -3 | 55.386 | 109.16 |
| 2011 | -12.8410614247162 | -3 | 57.759 | 79.696 |
| 2012 | -8.09235021357272 | -3 | 59.516 | 73.686 |
| 2013 | -6.17273643139023 | -3 | 61.517 | 72.607 |
| 2014 | -3.64802020347196 | -3 | 66.038 | 73.145 |
| 2015 | -1.9491464161654 | -3 | 70.884 | 76.007 |
| 2016 | -0.691980388981317 | -3 | 73.481 | 75.361 |
| 2017 | -0.305252565366791 | -3 | 76.574 | 77.481 |
| 2018 | 0.1 | -3 | 82.337 | 82.168 |
Source publication: Government Finance Statistics Annual, October 2019
Get the data: StatBank GFA01 (Government Revenue/Expenditure), StatBank N1805 (GDP)
From 2009 to 2014, Ireland consistently exceeded the 3% of GDP threshold for government deficits set out in the SGP. Ireland's general government deficit (as a percentage of GDP) increased by 18.2% in 2010 as the impact of the Great Recession was felt in Ireland. This deficit increase was partly caused by declining revenue. A significant cause of the fall in revenue was a sharp decline in the property development sector. Expenditure also increased in 2010. A major component of this increase was exceptional capital support for domestic financial institutions. General government deficits have fallen since 2010, with increases in overall revenue and decreases in expenditure. In 2015, the general government deficit fell within the SGP threshold for the first time since 2008, and this trend continued into 2017 where the deficit was reduced to 0.3% of GDP. A surplus of 0.1% of GDP was seen in 2018, the first surplus since 2007.
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