Budget surplus a record £2.4B

By Andrew Bushe

DUBLIN — Ireland had the biggest budget surplus in its history in 2000 and its economic performance has been better than all the other EU states, according to Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy.

The surplus for the year to the end of December was £2.4 billion, £794 million better than the Budget 2000 target surplus.

McCreevy said the surplus was 4.6 percent of GDP and represented the best performance in the EU.

As the economy continued to perform strongly, tax revenue was 14.9 percent ahead of 1999, compared to the Budget 2000 target of 9.6 percent.