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THERE WAS A general Government deficit of 8.2 per cent of GDP in 2012, according to revised figures confirmed today by the Central Statistics Office.
It represents a worsening of the initial estimates issued in April, which put the number at 7.6 per cent of GDP. However, the figure is still inside the Troika target for last year of 8.6 per cent.
The April figures included Government revenue from the sale of mobile phone licences, reflecting the fact that the contract was entered into in 2012. However, the CSO’s European equivalent Eurostat has since confirmed that, as the date for the legal allocation of the licences was this year, the money should go instead towards 2013 figures.
According to the CSO:
The effect of this change of treatment is a worsening of the 2012 deficit in the amount of €723 million.This forms the main component of the change in the reported deficit from €12,461 million in April to €13,511 million in October.
Today’s figures show Government revenue increased from €55.3 billion in 2011 to €56.5 billion in 2012, while there was a decline in expenditure from €76.5 billion to €69.8 billion over the same period.
Taxes and social contributions represented just under 87 per cent of total Government revenue in 2012. Social benefits accounted for just over 40 per cent of spending.
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Why cant we have emergency laws brought in to stop all ex politicians massive pensions.give them the state pension or if still young enough give them jobseekers like the rest of the country.after all we are broke
@ Catherine: Even if they all lived on the state pension, we’d still be broke. And anyway, why would anybody be bothered in running for election in the future if they had to live off the State pension after putting up with all the crap (see protests outside politicians homes, the media focus on their private lives, the constant battle to be re-elected in a badly designed system) they have to put up with?
It seems Irish people want good people to get involved in politics but we don’t want to pay them.
Well said Catherine!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=JUC4la0zUGA
Firstly, because this doesn’t come within the definition of an emergency under Art.28.3.3 of the Constitution – time of war or armed rebellion’.
And secondly, because necessity is the tyrant’s plea. I’d rather live in a democracy that has respect for the rule of law.
Hi Ignoreland, are you trying to tell me these men respect the rule of law?
@ Ryan Ash
Why not simple change the “badly designed system”
@ Toirealach: I tried by making a submission to the Constitutional Convention, but they recommended to keep the existing system with some changes. One of these changes is larger constituencies of 7 to 9 TDs, which would hopefully eliminate the parochialism epidemic a little bit.
But the question still remains: If you are an experienced, interested and capable person, why would you enter politics if it would considerably worsen your long term financial situation – as Catherine has suggested?
Well ive only ever heard politicians say they went into politics for the good of the country not financial gain..so its ok for someone to work all their lives for a state pension but not our precious politicians
@Toirealach, I don’t see how the answer to the examples of the lack of rule of law is even less rule of law.
@Ignoreland
Did you read it?
1 Systematically paying workers a significant portion of their wages “under the counter”, without deducting tax and insurance. And regularly sourcing the cash for these from local banks using fraudulent cheques made out to nonexistent individuals. (Goodman beef processors, as concluded by the beef tribunal.)
2 Undermining the integrity of a key State commercial competition by exerting an “insidious and perverse” and “pervasive and abusive” influence on the process. (Michael Lowry, Moriarty tribunal report.)
3Acting in a manner that was “profoundly corrupt to a degree that was nothing short of breathtaking”. (Lowry and Ben Dunne, in relation to attempts to influence arbitration of rental payments to Dunne, Moriarty report.)
4 Making corruption “both systemic and endemic” at every level of Irish political life. (The Mahon tribunal)
5 Stealing money raised for a friend’s life-saving operation. The Moriarty tribunal found that Charles Haughey stole a “sizeable proportion” of Brian Lenihan’s medical fund.
6 Committing perjury. Charles Haughey lied to the McCracken tribunal, claiming that he had not received money from Ben Dunne but later conceding he had done so. The Bailey brothers “hindered and obstructed” the Flood tribunal in a number of ways, including making untrue statements under oath. Not only did Mick and Tom Bailey each give false evidence under oath, but the tribunal found that they had colluded to concoct that evidence.
7 Covering up and repeatedly facilitating sexual attacks on children by known predatory paedophiles. (Several Irish bishops, the Murphy report.)
8 Operating a massive and systematic tax fraud against the State. In 1993, the then huge sum of £2 billion was held in non-residential accounts the banks knew to be fraudulent. Allied Irish Bank alone had 88,000 “non-resident” accounts – the practice was highly organised throughout virtually all Irish banks. The public accounts committee found it to be “an industry-wide phenomenon”.
9 Manufacturing a therapeutic substance without a licence, not informing women that you knew had been infected with hepatitis C and not informing the Department of Health of the infection as you were obliged to do by law. (Senior management of the Blood Transfusion Service Board, Finlay report).
@Ryan Ash
Where can I find a copy of your new system?
You must be in politics to say that. If politicians did their jobs properly and didn’t have such big pensions and salaries they wouldn’t be annoying everyone so much cussing these riots, angry mobs! Anyway, they still shouldn’t be getting a pension until pension age like the rest of us…. They want us to work until 67 now yet they can retire and draw pensions at about 50 ?earlier !!!! No justice there.
*causing
We are slowly sinking into the abyss thanks to our European masters and their collaboratours the Fianna gael party and the Labour party.
I couldn’t give a stinking bucket of spit what the troika thinks
This government sits up there in kildare st and they know only to well the levels of white collar crime that have and are now threatening us all but they sit up there as if it does not exist ,and i know this for a fact because there is no body in fcuking jail.
It’s gonna be funny to see FF swaying the electorate with “eat the rich” policies.
The manner in which this coalition has decided to support and shelter those who have wealth at the expense of a future generation is truly shocking.
Thats a shocking number, so only sinking a little less slowly? also given that a chunk of Ireland’s GDP only exists in computer files, its a more onerous burden than other states where more of the GDP is real GDP generated by companies belonging to those states.
Who are the gonna screw in next years budget?
Your children of course.
Tommy it won’t be themselves you can be sure and if them in Kildare st don’t fukc up this country .
M A M A will they haven’t a clue .
I mean Nama
So if 40% of the tax intake is spent on ‘Social Benefits’ which, according to the great and the good, are dragging the county down and are unsustainable – what happens to the remaining 60%?
It all seems a bit makey upey.
So there should then be a significant, and unplanned, improvement in the 2013 finances?
Could this improvement be carried forward into 2014 and used to lessen the €666m in health cuts?
have your say