Ireland Current Account Narrows Sharply in Q1

Ireland's current account narrowed to €13.9 billion in the third quarter of 2025 from €19.7 in the corresponding period of the previous year. The primary income deficit widened to €46.4 billion from the €33.6 billion gap in the previous year, signaling the large group of multinational corporation headquartered in Ireland expatriated its profits to their home nations, making up most of the outflows from Ireland's current account. In the meantime, the merchandise surplus widened to €55.4 billion from €42.9 billion.

Ireland’s current account surplus narrowed to EUR 19.5 billion in the second quarter of 2025, from EUR 35.2 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year. The primary income deficit rose to EUR 50.1 billion from EUR 28.7 billion a year earlier, while the secondary income shortfall also widened slightly, reaching EUR 1.2 billion compared to EUR 1.16 billion in the second quarter of 2024. Additionally, the services surplus fell significantly to EUR 12.4 billion from EUR 26.5 billion. Conversely, the goods surplus increased significantly to EUR 58.4 billion in the second quarter, compared to EUR 38.6 billion in the same period a year earlier.

The current account surplus in Ireland narrowed to EUR 5.8 billion in Q1 2025, downwardly revised from a preliminary release of EUR 6.6 billion and sharply lower than the EUR 17.9 billion recorded a year earlier, marking the smallest surplus since Q4 2023. The services balance swung to a EUR 0.4 billion deficit from a EUR 14.9 billion surplus in the same quarter last year, while the primary income deficit widened significantly to EUR 67.0 billion from EUR 34.9 billion. In contrast, the goods surplus nearly doubled to EUR 74.2 billion from EUR 39.1 billion. The secondary income deficit narrowed slightly to EUR 1.0 billion from EUR 1.2 billion.