The State collected €3.66 billion in tax during the first month of the year, up 17 per cent or €533 million on the same month last year, the latest exchequer returns show.

The Department of Finance said the “very significant” year-on-year increase was partly due to the late payment of more than €250 million in corporation tax which had originally been due in December.

The figures were also boosted by a 27.7 per cent surge in income tax receipts which came in at €1.26 billion, reflecting the first full-year impact of the universal social charge.

While monthly tax receipts can be volatile, they remain the most accurate barometer of the economy’s health.

January’s VAT receipts, a key indicator of consumer spending during the traditionally busy pre-Christmas period, rose by 3 per cent year-on-year to €1.725 billion.

The figures did not cover the period since the introduction of a 2 per cent increase in VAT which came into effect on January 1st.

Nevertheless, the Department said the two largest tax categories of income tax and VAT were broadly in line with expectations.

Ireland’s overall budget deficit stood €394 million at the end of January, compared to €483 million at the same point last year.

“This is a solid start to the year on foot of good progress in 2011,” a Department of Finance spokesman said.

Peter Vale of Grant Thornton said: “The fact that the exchequer has managed to stay on track, despite the chaos in the global economy, is a good sign for Ireland’s recovery.”

Davy economist Conall Mac Coille said the striking feature of the data was the strong performance of VAT receipts.

"However, it is too early to draw firm conclusions about the underlying strength of tax revenue or spending growth in 2012," he said.

The figures showed overall spending for the month was €3.83 billion, 2.8 per cent lower than the same month last year.

However, the State spent €769 million last month servicing the interest on the national debt, compared with €483 million in 2011, reflecting the State’s bigger debt burden.

Current or day-to-day spending by the Government was 3.6 billion in January, 2.9 per cent lower than the same month last year, with the largest year-on-year reductions being made in the health and environment departments.

Capital spending was €210 million during the month, effectively unchanged year-on-year, at just €4 million lower than January 2011.