The government's tax take for the first seven months of the year is almost €900m ahead of expectations.

The latest exchequer returns show tax collection of €24.5bn through July of this year. This figure represents a year-on-year increase of €2,161m (9.7%) and is €893m (3.8%) above profile.

All the main tax categories are ahead of target, with corporation tax 29% higher than planned in the last budget.

Income tax for the month is 2.2% below profile, although the Department of Finance say this is "wholly attributable to weak DIRT receipts on the back of low interest rates."

Meanwhile state spending is around 1.5% lower than planned, with a total deficit of €647m for the year to July.

That figure is down from a deficit of over €5bn in the same period last year.