Ireland’s economy remains in technical recession, with gross domestic product (GDP) down 0.7% in the final quarter of 2023 compared to the previous three months, according to provisional data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO). It has been shown that
The CSO said “early estimates” show GDP fell by an estimated 0.7% in the quarter. It said this result was mainly due to a decline in sectors dominated by multinational companies.
Additionally, GDP is estimated to decline by 3.4% compared to the same quarter in 2022. GDP for the full year 2023 is estimated to decrease by 1.9% compared to 2022.
This is the fifth consecutive quarter of decline, meaning the Irish economy is technically in recession. A country is considered to be in a technical recession if its GDP contracts for two consecutive quarters.
Rachel O’Carroll, senior statistician in the national accounts data collection and quality division, said the decline in volume was due to declines in the industrial and information and communications sectors, which are dominated by multinational companies.
According to national accounts released by the CSO last month, Ireland’s economy shrank by 1.9% in GDP in the third quarter from July to September, smaller than originally expected.
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In this case, the extent of the decline was larger than the provisional forecast released in October (which assumed a GDP contraction rate of 1.8%). National accounts covering the fourth quarter are expected to be published by the CSO in the coming months.
The decline in the third quarter was once again due to a contraction in multinational industry, as sectors dominated by multinational companies account for more than half (52 percent) of the economy’s gross value added.
“It’s cheap to blame the lowest paid people for the challenges in our economy.”
Sectors dominated by multinationals shrank by 3.8% in the third quarter, while all other sectors contracted by 0.7%.
Finance Minister Michael McGrath said at the time: “Given the outsized role played by the multinational sector in our economy, GDP is not a useful measure for assessing the standard of living of domestic residents.”
He added that the decline in the quarter reflects continued decline in demand for coronavirus-related medicines.