The government's tax take for the year so far is almost €900 million  ahead of expectations.

The latest exchequer returns show tax collection of €24-.5 billion euro for the first seven months of the year.

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

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

That's down from a deficit of over €5 billion in the same period last year.