Production in the highly globalised “modern sector” of the Irish economy gained some ground in the three months between March and May, rising almost 6 per cent year-on-year. The sector, which includes the State’s big pharma and IT industries, previously recorded a 21 per cent drop in output year-on-year in the three months from December to February.
The data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) showed an overall decline in production in manufacturing industries of 9.6 per cent compared with the previous three-month period. Turnover was also down compared with the December to February period, falling almost 4 per cent.
Statistician Colin Cotter said the decline was driven by differences in performance between the modern sector and the traditional sector. While the modern sector gained modestly the traditional manufacturing sector continued to rise on an annual basis, gaining 11.3 per cent during the three-month period.
Year-on-year production rose almost 7 per cent between March and May, and manufacturing production rose on a monthly basis, gaining 5.8 per cent in May 2024.
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“The CSO recommends that analysts take a longer-term view of the indices because of the variability that can occur within the given months of a quarter,” Mr Cotter wrote in a note.
Industrial production figures here are also more volatile due to a large level of contract manufacturing, where a company outsources production to a third party.
Despite concerns over corporation tax receipts, May’s figures showed strong growth year-on- year. The business tax take, which has grown almost continuously since 2014, generated €3.6 billion in May, a rise of 30 per cent year-on-year. That continued into June, when it generation almost €6 billion, a 38 per cent increases compared to 2023.
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