New figures published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) reveal that Ireland's Government Deficit was almost €1.27bn in the six months to the end of June.

This is the amount of money borrowed by the government to run its day-to-day activities. The amount equates to 1% of Ireland's GDP - placing it well within EU limits.

CSO

The corresponding figure in 2015 was €2.3bn, or 1.9% of the country's GDP.

Government revenue increased by 3.4% to €34.5bn when compared with the same period last year as a 7.1% increase in Ireland's tax takings offset a reduction in investment income.

At the end of June 2016, general government gross debt fell by €6.5bn to stand at €200bn or 77.8% of GDP. This figure ballooned to 120% of Ireland's GDP during the financial crisis.

It is down from a debt level of 90.8% of GDP for the same period in 2015. The fall in the ratio was primarily due to increased GDP. These figures are affected by the 26% growth rate recorded by the CSO in Ireland last year.