A stronger construction sector drove growth in the Republic of Ireland’s economy in the July-to-September quarter, official figures show.
Gross domestic product expanded 1.5% quarter-on-quarter.
However, Ireland’s trade-dependent economy continued to feel the impact of the downturn in Europe, with exports down by 0.8% quarter-on-quarter.
The bursting of Ireland’s property bubble plunged the country into recession.
According to a breakdown of sectors, the data from the Central Statistics Office showed that industry – which includes building and construction – expanded by 2.2% quarter-on-quarter.
“This certainly suggests that there is a good bit of momentum in the economy and that the consumer is slowly coming back,” said Conall MacCoille, chief economist at Davy Stockbrokers.
“Construction spending is up 15% on the year, which is an extraordinarily large rate of expansion.”
