A deficit of €144.0 million was reported in the Government’s Consolidated Fund by the end of April 2019, compared to a deficit of €95.9 million in the same period in 2018, the National Statistics Office reported on Friday.

The main catalysts in the difference were increased outlays in both recurrent and capital expenditure.

During April 2019, Central Government Debt stood at €5,503.0 million, a €121.6 million rise from the corresponding month last year. 

Between January and April 2019, recurrent revenue rose by €158.1 million and amounted to €1,387.7 million. This represented a 12.9 per cent increase from the €1,229.6 million reported in 2018.

The increase was primarily the result of a €75.8 million rise in Income Tax. Further increases were also registered under Grants (€29.9 million), Value Added Tax (€28.3 million) and Social Security (€28.1 million) among other categories.

Total expenditure by the end of April 2019 stood at €1,531.7 million, a 15.6 per cent increase from the corresponding period in 2018.

Recurrent expenditure stood at €1,321.1 million, €163.6 million higher than the corresponding amount reported by the end of April 2018.

The main contributor to this increase was a €100.6 million rise reported under Programmes and Initiatives. Furthermore, rises in outlay were also registered by Contributions to Government Entities (€26.0 million), Personal Emoluments (€24.3 million) and Operational and Maintenance Expenses (€12.7 million).

The main developments in the Programmes and Initiatives category involved added outlays due to EU own resources (€25.6 million), tax relief measures (€11.4 million) and the extension of school transport network (€11.1 million) among other things.

The interest component of the public debt servicing costs amounted to €66.2 million, which is €8.6 million less than the same period in 2018.

Government’s capital expenditure registered an increase of €51.2 million from the same period last year and amounted to €144.4 million. The rise in outlay was due to added expenditure reported on road construction and improvements (€18.8 million), investment incentives (€14.6 million), EU Internal Security Fund - Borders and Visa (€10.9 million) and EU structural funds 2014-2020 (€7.9 million).

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