THE IRISH economy remained weak in the first quarter of 2011, according to figures released yesterday by the Central Statistics Office.
Economic output – as measured by gross domestic product (GDP) – grew by 1.3 per cent in the first three months of 2011 compared to the final quarter of 2010, driven by strong profitability among foreign companies located in Ireland.
Another measure of output – gross national product (GNP) which excludes foreign firms’ profits – fell by 4.3 per cent.
The GDP growth figure was the largest quarterly rise since the end of 2007. The GNP decline was the largest quarterly fall ever recorded.
Both measures tend to be volatile and are subject to large revisions.
By sector, the services sector, which is the economy’s largest, grew in the first quarter. Compared to three months earlier, its value added rose by 0.7 per cent.
The distribution, transportation and communications sector also grew, expanding by 1.3 per cent in the first three months of the year.
Continued contractions were recorded in four of the six other sectors for which figures are available – industry (-1.6), construction (-15.4), agriculture (-2.1) and public administration (-0.7).
When broken down by expenditure component, most components of the GDP/GNP numbers were weak in the first quarter.
Personal consumption – spending by households on goods and services – fell by 1.9 per cent. This was third largest decline recorded since figures were first compiled in 1998.
Since peaking in the final quarter of 2007, personal consumption has fallen by 12 per cent, broadly in line with the decline in overall GDP.
Public consumption – spending by central and local government on goods and services – also contracted by 1.9 per cent in the first quarter. Its cumulative decline since peaking in 2008 is just over 11 per cent.
Irish exports in the first quarter were at a record high, growing by 3.8 per cent compared to the final quarter of 2010.
Spending on investment recorded an unexpected increase in the first three months off the year, rising slightly on the final three months of 2010. The component includes spending on plant and equipment as well as construction. Reflecting the collapse in construction spending, total investment spend has fallen by 60 per cent since the bursting of the property bubble in 2007.
