Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Question 69: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will outline in tabular form the annual budget deficit for each year since 1995; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4465/12]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Exchequer balance for each of the years 1995 – 2011 is set out in Table 1. The 1995-2009 figures are taken from the September 2011 Budgetary and Economic Statistics publication. The 2010 figure is from the 2010 Finance Accounts. The 2011 figure is taken from the end-December 2011 Exchequer Statement. As the figures show, in seven of the seventeen years covered, the Exchequer Account was actually in surplus as opposed to deficit. Table 1: Exchequer Balance 1995-2011

The General Government balance for each of the years 1995-2011 is presented in Table 2. For the years 1995-2006, the figures are taken from the website of the Central Statistics Office. For the years 2007-2010, the figures are taken from the November 2011 Maastricht Statistical Returns to Eurostat. For 2011, the figure is the estimated outturn as per Budget 2012. As the figures show, in ten of the seventeen years covered, a General Government surplus was recorded. The Deputy should be aware that the 2010 General Government deficit of €48.84 billion includes the full €30.85 billion in Promissory Notes committed to Anglo Irish Bank, Irish Nationwide Building Society and Educational Building Society. The 2010 Exchequer balance was not affected by these Promissory Notes.

Table 2: General Government Balance 1995-2011