Quarterly Economic Commentary, Spring 2014

GNP, which provides the best measure of the standard of living (and output) of Irish residents, is estimated to have grown by 3.3 per cent2 in 2013. This shows an economy that is recovering quite vigorously. The continuing improvement in the current account of the balance of payments, the rapid growth in employment and the signs of a pick-up in investment all point to a continuation of the recovery into 2014. As a result, on the basis of the information available to us today, we expect growth in GNP in 2014 of 3.5 per cent and that this pattern will continue into 2015, resulting in growth in GNP next year of 3.7 per cent