The latest government finance data published by the National Statistics Office confirmed that steady progress was being made to put public finances on a solid footing, according to the Finance Ministry.

The figures, covering the first five months of the year, show that the deficit in the consolidated fund declined by €120 million when compared to the corresponding period of 2014, on the back of a €185 million increase in recurrent revenue, which the government attributed to robust economic growth.

The government also noted that in spite of a reduction in income tax rates, revenue from income tax increased by €25 million while income from VAT increased by almost €18 million.

It interpreted a €6 million decrease in recurrent expenditure on social benefits as a reflection of a robust performance in the labour market, and the success of various measures introduced by the government to incentivise work and discourage dependency.

The data also showed that expenditure on education increased by over €6 million, while capital expenditure reached €178 million during the first five months of the year, a €29 million increase over the corresponding period of 2014. This, the government said, was a further confirmation of its strong commitment "to continue investing in the human capital and physical infrastructure in order to enhance the productive capacity of our economy."

"Following the official lifting of the Excessive Deficit Procedure by the Ecofin last week, today's data further confirms this Government's determination to continue with its planned targets of fiscal sustainability," Finance Minister Edward Scicluna said.