Exchequer returns for the first six months of the year show revenue from property-related taxes has fallen below forecasts and that Government finances are some €1.42 billion in the red.
Tax receipts from stamp duty totalled €1.69 billion to the end of June compared to €1.60 billion this time last year and €97 million below what the Department of Finance had forecast.
Assistant secretary at the Department's budget, economic and pensions section Michael McGrath said it would only be "speculation" to make any connection between the fall in stamp duty and the Minister for Finance's announcement before the general election that he would abolish the tax for first-time buyers.
Mr McGrath confirmed the "vast bulk" - around 75 per cent - of the €1.69 billion in stamp duty came from property. Of that, around 56 per cent related to commercial property and 44 per cent to residential property - the same breakdown as in 2006.
Receipts from capital gains tax also came in €118 million below forecast at €1.04 billion. This compared to €895 million at the end of June last year.
Excise duties were down €145 million on what the Exchequer had budgeted for, largely because the expected SSIA spend on new cars did not materialise.
"Car sales are up on the year, but not as much as we had factored in," Mr McGrath told reporters at a briefing in Dublin.
He said the bulk of car sales normally occurs in the first half of the year so the Department did not expect the slippage in the tax take to accentuate as the year goes on.
A Department of Finance spokesman told ireland.comthat while receipts from these taxes were up on last year, they were both below forecasts.
Last year receipts from stamp duty and capital gains tax were both over €1 billion ahead of the Department's forecasts, giving the Exchequer an additional €2 billion in revenue.
Today's figures show a deficit of €1.42 billion, significantly above the Department's forecast of a €546 million deficit for 2007 as a whole.
However, Department of Finance officials inisted they were on target to meet their overall forecasts for 2007, although they could not say the financial position at year-end would be better than predicted.
The figures show expenditure rose slightly ahead of forecasts by 21 per cent to €18.07 billion compared to €15.56 billion this time last year. This was mainly on the back of increased spending on capital projects and the National Development Plan.
Total tax revenue to the end of June was €20.8 billion, compared to just under €19.6 billion for the same period last year. This is a rise of some 6.3 per cent.
In a statement, Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Brian Cowen said tax receipts in the first six months of the year were close to expectations.
"This shows that the economy continues to perform well, with growth in line with our Budget expectations of around 5 per cent in real terms - a rate that is twice that in Europe generally. CSO data for the first quarter of 2007 released earlier today confirms this," Mr Cowen said.
"I am confident that the prospects are for solid growth in the years ahead. The Government, with our social partners will continue to pursue the policies that have served Ireland well over the last 10 years.
"Investment in our infrastructure, our education system and moderate wage increases have enabled the economy to prosper. This has generated the resources for key improvements in our social services while maintaining a solid fiscal position. Our Programme for Government is framed around continuing that mix of policies."
Mr Cowen said the rate of growth in capital expenditure provided evidence that significant projects in the key areas of transport, the environment and education under the National Development Plan 2007-2013 are "proceeding strongly".