Ireland’s economy grew by 9.7% in the first three months of the year, mainly due to a surge in exports to the US ahead of new tariffs from the Trump administration. Much of the boost came from strong pharmaceutical exports, especially in March.
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) said overall exports rose by 9.4%, with goods exports jumping by 14.8%.
However, growth within the domestic economy was much slower.
Modified Domestic Demand – which measures consumer, government, and business spending – grew by just 0.8% during the same period. Personal spending on goods and services was up by 0.6%, while wages increased by 0.9%.
Chris Sibley, Assistant Director General of the CSO, said the GDP figure was “unusual and very high.”
