The government had to borrow over 15 thousand euro every minute last year to cover the costs of running the state.

The official exchequer returns show the country's spending last year was 8.2 billion euro higher than the amount it took in.

However that's well down on the 11.5 billion euro that Ireland overspent by in 2013.

Reflecting the number of people now working, 8.9 percent more income tax was collected in 2014 than the previous year, while VAT was up by 7.9 percent.

Welcoming the figures, Finance Minister Michael Noonan says the figures highlight the underlying improvement in the economy.

The Local Property Tax raised almost half a billion euro, while Corporation tax raised 4.6 billion in the 12 months to December.