Press release
Minister Donohoe welcomes CSO data confirming continued strong growth in the Irish economy
From Department of Finance; Central Statistics Office
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Finance; Central Statistics Office
Published on
Last updated on
The Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure & Reform, Paschal Donohoe TD has welcomed the publication today (Thursday) by the CSO of the definitive national accounts for last year together with estimates for the first quarter of 2018.
Commenting on the figures, Minister Donohoe said:
“Today’s figures are very positive showing that the Irish economy grew by 7.2 per cent in GDP terms last year. This confirms that Ireland was the fastest growing economy in the European Union in 2017.
“Today’s data also provide clear evidence of continued momentum in the economy this year with annual GDP growth of 9.1 per cent recorded in the first quarter. While this is primarily driven by the external sector, private consumption is also making a strong positive contribution up 2.7 per cent on an annual basis.
“Notwithstanding the well-known limitations with GDP, it is clear that the economy continues to perform strongly. Full-time employment increased by over 4 per cent in the first quarter of this year, unemployment continues to fall and tax receipts to end-June are up 5.4 per cent over the same period last year.”
The CSO has today also made a number of further methodological changes to GNI* which result in a reduction in the level of this indicator in all years. GNI* increased by 3 per cent last year in nominal terms and is estimated at €181.2 billion. As a result, the debt to GNI* ratio was 111 per cent last year, this compares with an initial estimate of 100 per cent.
Minister Donohoe continued:
“The still elevated levels of debt in the Irish economy and the increasingly challenging external environment highlights the importance of the Government’s strategy of implementing prudent budgetary policies designed to further improve the resilience of the economy. That is what the Summer Economic Statement sets out and what the Government will continue to do.”
Ends