Foreign-owned multinational companies accounted for almost a quarter of total gross value added (GVA) created in the economy in 2011, according to figures published by the Central Statistics Office yesterday for the first time.

GVA measures the value of goods and services produced less the cost of all inputs, including labour costs and raw materials, used in their production.

The total contribution of foreign companies to the Irish economy has risen very substantially since 2006, both because the sector has grown strongly and because GVA generated by the domestic economy has contracted. In the five years to 2011, GVA in the foreign owned sector grew by more than one third, while GVA generated by the domestic economy contracted by more than 16 per cent over the same period.