Tax revenues ahead of target

TAX revenues in Ireland were 1.7pc or €365m ahead of the target -- which is good news for the Government and Minister for Finance Michael Noonan, inset, entering budget negotiations.

The exchequer returns for August show that €22.07bn was collected to the end of the month -- an increase from €20.50bn collected by this point in 2011.

Income tax is €102m or 1.1pc ahead of target. However, the figure is still below target for August.

The exchequer deficit at the end of August was €11.3bn, while debt funding costs were €4.8bn. There was also a significant shortfall in excise duty, which is €116m lower than target.