The latest Exchequer returns are an indictment of "the catastrophic failure" of the Government's economic policy and management, Opposition parties have claimed.
August's returns, published by the Department of Finance this afternoon, show an ongoing, but not unexpected, slowdown in tax returns.
The Department tonight said it was expected the total tax take bythe year's end to be €500 million below the sum originallyanticipated.
The figures show the Exchequer is running at a deficit of more than €892 million, compared to a surplus of some €951 million at the same time last year.Excise duties are now €354 million below budget.
Tax receipts are some €64 million short of expectations, at a total of €19,092m. At the same time, expenditure is running almost 10 per cent ahead of last year's figures.
Labour's finance spokeswoman, Ms Joan Burton, said all the signs of the Government's failures were increasingly evident.
She said job losses had mounted month after month and there were now fewer people at work in the manufacturing industry in Ireland today than when Mr Bertie Ahern first became Taoiseach.
"There is much anecdotal evidence of labour-shedding in certain sectors such as tourism. This will put even more pressure on tax revenues over the next few months," Ms Burton said.
"Just at the very time that public investment should be engine for new growth, this government has decided to delay many projects for new roads, rail improvements, schools and hospitals.
"Capital spending is down by 13 per cent compared to this time last year. Such has been this government's failure to manage costs on public projects that the total loss of cost control on the management of the LUAS project is not only endangering that project, but also vitally needed investment in public transport projects across the country."
Fine Gael's finance spokesman Mr Richard Bruton said the figures showed the Government had "blithely abandoned" a prudent approach to the public finances.
"Today's figures indicate that the meltdown in tax revenue may be more serious than the Government has admitted to date. Excise duties are now running €354 million short of expectations for the end of August," he said."This adds to the shortfalls already expected in income tax and corporation tax."
Mr Bruton said public investment policy is "a shambles".
"There is absolutely no confidence that this Government is getting an adequate rate of return on its investments in public infrastructures. Not a single project has been axed from the National Development Plan despite a 60 per cent escalation in the cost."