AS THE GOVERNMENT makes the final decisions on next year’s budget, new figures project that the surplus in public finances this year will be €4.415 billion.

The annual White Paper, published ahead of the budget every year, from the Department of Finance shows that Ireland’s finances are in rude health, even compared with projections from earlier this year.

Casting ahead to next year, the surplus is projected to balloon to nearly €11.8 billion, but this forecast does not take into account any decisions that will be announced in Budget 2023 on Tuesday.

In April, finance minister Paschal Donohoe sought to downplay a potential budget surplus while in July the Government adjusted forecasts for this year from a deficit to a small surplus of around €1.2 billion.

The turnaround was fuelled by record corporation tax receipts of around €20 billion, which have doubled in around five years, raising question marks about the sustainability of those funds.

To address this, the White Paper included alternative figures based on a possible collapse of more than €9 billion in corporation tax receipts.

The Finance and Public Expenditure Ministers have about €6.7 billion to play with in Tuesday’s budget, while it has been widely flagged that there will also be a cost-of-living package alongside the traditional budgetary measures.

Some of the key measures in Budget 2023 are likely to be tax-based changes and tax breaks for both landlords and renters.