The Irish economy grew strongly in late 2022 despite fears of a recession

Relatively strong growth over the last three months of the year has boosted the overall expansion of Ireland’s economy by an estimated 12.2 per cent over the past year, according to new data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The new Irish data contrasts sharply with Germany, where Monday’s figures showed the economy contracted 0.2 percent late last year. A further contraction there would threaten a recession for the eurozone’s largest economy.

The European Commission has estimated growth in 2022 for the European Union as a whole at 3.3 percent.

Early estimates here show that gross domestic product (GDP) grew an estimated 3.5 percent in the fourth quarter (October, November and December) of 2022 compared to the third quarter of 2022, offering additional comfort to Treasury Secretary Michael McGrath.

This growth was mainly driven by expansion in manufacturing.

It will boost GDP growth to 12.2 percent for the full year 2022 compared to 2021.

The Irish estimate is based on information from the CSO Large Cases Unit, retail sales, administrative payroll data and other activity indicators.

A more detailed estimate of GDP and its components will be published in the Quarterly National Accounts (QNA) for Q4 2022 in early March.”