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Ireland's Q2 GDP grows 6.7 pct year-on-year

Xinhua, September 11, 2015 Adjust font size:

For the second quarter, Ireland's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 6.7 percent year-on-year, according to latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on Thursday.

This follows an annual GDP growth rate of 7.2 percent in the first quarter of this year, the CSO said.

It said GDP rose by 1.9 percent between the first and second quarters.

Commenting on the latest economic performance, Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan said Thursday's figures are extremely positive.

"The increase in economic activity is broadly-based, unlike in the past when activity was excessively concentrated in the construction sector we are now seeing both domestic-facing and exporting sectors performing strongly," Noonan said.

Exports were strong in the second quarter, growing by 13.6 percent, he said.

"The multinational sector is contributing but so too are Irish-owned firms. The competitiveness improvements we've seen in recent years are standing to us," he added.

Domestic demand is also growing strongly, with consumer spending continuing to recover, according to the Irish minister.

"Today's encouraging data is mirrored in strong employment growth as well as tax receipts to end-August which increased by almost 10 percent over the same period last year," he said. Enditem