Irish gov't deficit falls to 2.3 pct of GDP in 2015

Ireland's general government deficit last year was 4.9 billion euros (5.5 billion U.S. dollars), or 2.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), according to official figures on Wednesday.

"This is an improvement on the 2014 position of 7.2 billion euros or 3.8 percent of GDP and is largely due to an increase of over 7 percent in government revenues which grew from 65.7 billion euros in 2014 to 70.5 billion euros in 2015," the Central Statistics Office (CSO) said.

This increase in revenues was partially offset by an increase of 2.5 billion euros in expenditures, it said.

Meanwhile, Ireland's government debt fell to 93.8 percent of GDP in 2015, according to the CSO.

The gross debt of general government stood at 201.3 billion euros at the end of 2015, or 93.8 percent of GDP, down from 203.3 billion euros at the end of 2014, or 107.5 percent of GDP.

This is due primarily to a significant increase in GDP, which rose from 189 billion euros in 2014 to 214.6 billion euros in 2015, while gross debt fell by 2 billion euros, it said.

The composition of gross debt changed significantly in 2015, driven in part by a repayment of International Monetary Fund loans in the first quarter of the year. This reduction in loan liabilities was largely offset in the same quarter by a more conventional means of financing through the issuance of long-term debt securities, it added. Endit