An €8.3bn deterioration in the public finances over the past year is being blamed on the coronavirus.
Latest Exchequer figures show the deficit was €7.4bn euro in July, compared to a surplus of €896m in the same month last year.
The fall largely due to the cost of the State’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, with spending up €8.6bn year-on-year.
Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe says the figures are not surprising.
