Official figures show that there was a dramatic contraction in the economy in the first three months of this year.
The Central Statistics Office said economic output, as measured by GDP (gross domestic product), fell at an annual rate of 8.5%. The decline in GNP (gross national product) - which excludes profits from multi-national companies based here - was even bigger at 12%. The CSO describes these figures as 'unprecedented' and they are weaker than economists had expected.
Consumer spending was more than 9% lower than the same period in 2008, while capital investment plummeted by 34%. Industrial output dropped 10.5% over the year, including a fall of 31.4% in construction output. New housing was down by 47%, and there was a 20% fall in other building and construction projects.
Other CSO figures showed a fall in the Balance of Payments current account deficit in the first three months of this year. The deficit was €2.53 billion, down from €4.18 billion a year earlier. The surplus on goods surged to €8 billion, mainly due to a slump in imports. The balance of payments measures flows of trade and income into and out of the country.
'The Statistical Yearbook of Ireland 2008' was published last Thursday by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). This free yearbook presents a very detailed overview of Ireland today. It provides detailed information, tables and graphs across a wide range of topics. These include the population, labour force, education, crime, the economy, agriculture, industry, services, prices, housing, knowledge economy and the environment. Some of the main information:
People
Irish society is becoming more diverse. There were 18 countries represented in the non-Irish national population. However 82% of these came from only 10 countries: UK, Poland, Lithuania, Nigeria, Latvia, US, China, Germany, Philippines and France.
The number of divorced persons increased from 35,000 to 59,500 between 2002 and 2006, a rise of 70%.
The most popular babies' names in 2007 were Jack and Sarah.
Work
From 1985 to 2007 the number of persons in employment increased from 1.1 million to 2.1 million.
In 2007 employment in the construction industry accounted for 13% of total employment.
In 2007 there were only 6,038 days lost due to six industrial disputes.
Economy
Lending by credit institutions to the personal (private households) sector increased to over €148bn in 2007 from €134bn in 2006, but the pace of growth slowed compared to previous years.
A deficit of €10.3 billion was recorded in the current account of the balance of the payments in 2007. The average deficit over the last five year was €4.6 billion.
The General Government Balance was a surplus of €554m in 2007 compared with a surplus of €5,213m in 2006.
Education
At the age of 19, 66% of females and 48% of males were in full-time education in 2006/2007.
In 2007 there were 29,534 primary school teachers in the state, 84% were female.
In 2006/2007 there were 26,317 full-time equivalent teachers in secondary schools. schools.____________
Tourism/Transport
Driving tests conducted in 2006 totalled 154,741, with an overall pass rate of 52%.
Highest number of new private cars licensed for the first time in 2007, classified by make, were Toyota (27,030), Volkswagen (21,087) and Ford (20,027).
In 2007 expenditure by residents from other European countries exceeded expenditure by residents from Britain for the first time.
Housing
Between 2000 and 2007, public capital expenditure on housing increased by 130%.
The number of dwellings completed increased by 57% between 2000 and 2007.
The Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels sector experienced the highest rate of price increase in 2007 at 20.4%.
Knowledge Economy
The ICT sector employed over 82,700 persons in 2005.
In total, 57% of Irish households had access to the internet in the first quarter of 2007. Almost 31% of all households had a broadband connection.
Nearly two thirds of businesses with 10 or more employees had a website or homepage in 2007.
Official figures show that there was a dramatic contraction in the economy in the first three months of this year.