Ireland’s growth figure close to 4%, Taoiseach tells Dáil

The revised growth rate by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) of 26 per cent in 2015 did not reflect economic reality, Taoiseach Enda Kenny told the Dáil.

He said the Department of Finance figure was in the region of 3.5 to 4 per cent, adding it would base its policy on a more normal growth rate. "These are figures compiled accurately by the CSO and are taking into account changes in the international economy,'' he added.

Mr Kenny said the real growth was in jobs, consumer spending and the drop in unemployment, and represented the real value of the economy.

The Taoiseach was replying to Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin, who said the CSO should be asked to design a proper and accurate way of calculating the real size of the Irish economy.

Mr Martin added it was quite shocking that the Department of Finance and the Taoiseach's own department had not, years ago, worked to create a proper model to calculate a figure. He said the figures put forward were "false'' in terms of the reality of the Irish economy.

Mr Martin said the CSO figures were not a bolt from the blue in the sense that it was known for some time that there was no proper, accurate statistical model for calculating the actual size of the Irish economy.

Undermines rules

“This has very serious impact, including on our budget planning, investment policies and our fiscal strategy,’’ he said. “At a stroke it undermines fiscal rules and the fiscal treaty, because nobody believes the figures.’’

Mr Kenny said the figures did not reflect accurately what was happening in the country. “Obviously, the figure of 26 per cent is unprecedented and significantly stronger than the previous estimate of 7.8 per cent, but it is important to note it is due to exceptional factors,’’ he added.

The figures reflected a number of factors, including the impact of relocation of entire plcs to Ireland, significantly boosting investment and net exports.

While the headline figures could be exaggerated in an Irish context and would obviously be the subject of intense scrutiny, Mr Kenny added, there were indicators of a strong recovery rooted in the domestic economy in Ireland.