The Irish economy grew by 0.6pc in the second quarter of the year, according to CSO figures released this morning.
The CSO said the growth was driven by “investment in intellectual property products imported from abroad” – a reflection of the activities of multinational companies who have moved activities here.
It said it could not identify the data of individual companies, but said “several” were involved.
That activity offset a decrease in personal spending – down 0.5pc compared to the first quarter.
GDP was 4.1pc higher than at the end of Q2 last year, the CSO said.
It’s the first set of GDP figures released by the CSO since the body said revised figures for 2015 showed the economy grew more than 26pc in 2015. The figure was derided as “leprechaun economics” – skewed by a big shift of activity to Ireland by some multinationals.
The CSO said there was a need to develop “a broader suite of domestically focused indicators and information”
It said it was convening an expert group – chaired by Central Bank governor Philip Lane – that will develop recommendations on “how best to meet the statistical needs of users”.
“The small, open and highly globalised nature of the Irish economy makes it increasingly difficult to represent the complexities of economic activity in Ireland in single headline indicators such as GDP and GNP,” CSO assistant director general Jennifer Banim said.
Article Source: http://tinyurl.com/kbwqb42
