The departments of finance and public expenditure were rightly in celebratory mood yesterday. Figures published by them show that the budget deficit fell by a massive €10 billion last year. On top of that, the amount of tax collected from us all was just about 1% more than they had forecast at €36.6bn.
They also shows that having failed to accurately forecast the amount of tax being collected during the boom and bust, the Department of Finance's bean counters are finally making accurate assessments of the state of the economy.
That's reasons to be cheerful for sure as we enter a new year.
Underlying the headline numbers, though, are some worrying trends.
Yes income tax returns are up, thanks to the universal social charge; corporation tax is higher thanks to bigger payments by two major companies and money came in from non-tax sources, such as the sale of radio spectrum to mobile phone companies.
But the scarce money coming in is still not been spent wisely. On the other side of the government's balance sheet, it is still spending well more than it planned. This is down to the failure of two big departments to stick to their budgets.
The Department of Health, or more accurately the Health Services Executive, still cannot live within its means. It ended the year €270 million above the €13bn it planned to spend. This is despite the last minute bailout it received in December from the department.
The Department of Social Protection spent a staggering €560m over its budget. The Department of Finance statement released yesterday says this is because PRSI didn't come in as it had planned. That's because so many people are unemployed and stuck on the dole it doesn't have their PRSI money.
These two areas should be a concern for the government. It is quite happy to look at the glass half full measure of the economy with higher taxes but ignoring the glass half empty measure of overspending.
The way it has tried to offset this is by spending less in areas it can control, like capital spending. That's money that should be going on schools, roads and hospitals. Instead, it kept a tight grip on the purse strings last year and spent €145m less than it should. It's a basic economic rule that by not spending this money it is bad for the economy down the line.
To be a little bit fair to the Department of Social Protection it can do little about the massive spending it has to do on benefit payments. It's not its fault people are stuck on the dole queues.
But there is absolutely not reason why James Reilly's health department cannot be restrained. Its biggest outlay is not on the health services but the cost of nurses and doctors. He has promised savings for this year on the health paybill and simply has to deliver.
As it is, even after December’s budget the country is spending €1bn each month more than it collects in taxes. It’s not acceptable for the spending side of the national coffers not to deliver on its part. The government may want to look through rose-tinted glasses at the extra taxes coming in but it can’t ignore its duty to spend it wisely.
