The extent of the slowdown experienced by the Irish economy in 2002 was borne out today by official statistics showing the economy grew by only 0.1 per cent last year, the slowest rate in 20 years.
That figure is lower than earlier estimates that put the growth rate at an already anaemic 0.6 per cent.
Detailed national accounts for 2002 published by the Central Statistics Office highlight the two-speed nature of Ireland's economic performance in 2002.
Measured in GDP terms, the economy grew by a healthy 6.9 per cent, but this measure owes much to the massive influence of transfer pricing by multinationals - most notably in the chemicals sector.
Gross National Product is regarded as a more accurate measure as it strips out the foreign-owned sector to measure the wealth generated by Irish citizens and companies - which grew by a more modest 0.1 per cent in 2002.
A breakdown of the figures shows that consumer spending maintained an upward trend with an increase of 8.9 per cent in 2002. The increase in Government expenditure was 14.4 per cent. When price rises are discounted, the real increases in these sectors were 2.7 per cent and 9.4 per cent respectively.
Exports exceeded imports by €24,144 million in 2002 as compared with €17,236 in 2001. This rise in the export surplus was more than offset by an increase of €7,620 million in net factor income outflows to the rest of the world.
But trade figures also published today show Ireland's trade position compated to the rest of the world swung into the red in the first quarter of 2003 due to a sharp fall in exports.
A deficit of €1,039 million was recorded in the current account of the Balance of Payments compared to a small surplus of €45 million in the same period last year.
Exports in the comparative quarters fell from €24,637 million in 2002 to €18,917 million in 2003, having remained relatively stable throughout 2001.
The national accounts show that investment in new buildings and capital equipment rose by 6.2 per cent in money terms - equivalent to 1.7 per cent in real terms. The value of stocks remained almost unchanged during 2002.