DUBLIN, Ireland: Ireland reported a higher budget surplus than any other country among the 27-member European Union for the third quarter of 2022, according to Eurostat.

Budget surplus is defined as more money being received in taxes and other revenue than was spent on capital investment, public services and debt repayments.

Ireland's budget surplus was reported at 3.1 percent of gross domestic product.

Only six other nations had surpluses, said Eurostat, including Portugal (1.3 percent), Lithuania (1 percent), Denmark (0.9 percent), the Netherlands (0.4 percent) and Sweden (0.3 percent) during the three months to September 2022.

Further, the average among EU countries was a budget deficit of 3.2 percent.

Ireland's Department of Finance estimates the country's surplus reached 5.2bn euros, surprising officials who expected the surplus to reach 4bn euros.

In a statement, Stockbrokers Goodbody expects Ireland to avoid a recession in 2023 due to "a record household savings haul and the ability for government supports due to the best budget position in the euro area Ireland's 'war chest."

At the same time, the Goodbody report expressed "concerns" about diminishing foreign direct investment into Ireland from the UK and US, because of their "high risk of recession" this year.