The government’s deficit grew by €83.6 million in the first five months of the year to reach €234.4 million, according to the latest official data.

The rise in expenditure outweighed the increase in revenue

There was an increase in revenue of about €27.2 million between January and May of this year, when compared to the corresponding period last year.

However, this has been outweighed by a €110.8 million rise in expenditure.

Overall, revenue stood at just more than €1 billion, representing an increase of 2.8 per cent. Expenditure hit the €1.24 billion mark, up by 9.8 per cent.

The rise was largely the result of increases in programmes and initiatives (by €68 million) and social security benefits (€22.7 million), according to the National Statistics Office.

Between January and May 2012, the interest component of the costs of servicing of public debt rose by €3.9 million.

At the end of May, even government debt increased, by €179.4 million, or 4.0 per cent, over the corresponding period last year to stand in excess of €4.6 billion.

The increase was the result of higher long-term borrowing, which added €328.6 million.

On the other hand, short-term securities and foreign borrowing declined by €92.1 million and €13.6 million respectively.