Irish economy contracts by 1% in second quarter

The Irish economy, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP), contracted by 1 per cent in the second quarter, as output from the multinational-dominated industry sector fell. This was down from a previous estimate of 1.2 per cent growth.
The revised figures, detailed in the Central Statistics Office’s latest quarterly national accounts, means GDP in the first half of 2024 shrank by 4.4 per cent compared with last year.
Minister for Finance Jack Chambers blamed the unexpected contraction on “continued volatility in the multinational sector”.
“While I recognise the fall in GDP in the second quarter of this year, GDP is not a useful measure in assessing the living standards of domestic residents, given the outsized role the multinational sector plays in our economy. The fall in GDP reflects the volatile nature of activity in the multinational sector,” he said.
The latest figures show Modified Domestic Demand, a more accurate measure of underlying domestic activity, also fell by 0.5 per cent in the second quarter.
However, personal spending on goods and services, a key measure of domestic economic activity, grew by 1.1 per cent in the quarter.
The CSO said activity in the globalised Industry sector, which is dominated by big pharma companies, fell by 0.7 per cent in the three months until the end of June while the information and communication sector posted a decrease of 0.9 per cent over the same period.
There was a mixed picture for sectors focused on the domestic market, with overall activity falling 1.8 per cent for the sectors combined.
The finance and insurance sector contracted by 9.8 per cent while the distribution, transport, hotels and restaurants sector declined by 1.1 per cent.