Would the Government trade some of its impressive GDP (gross domestic product) performance for a more pronounced rise in new home completions? In a heartbeat. <\/p>\n
Two big economic indicators were published by the Central Statistics Office on Thursday. One is politically charged as it relates to the State\u2019s principal challenge, housing.<\/p>\n
The other will be dismissed as an aberration and filed in the leprechaun economics folder.<\/p>\n
The Irish economy grew by 12.6 per cent in GDP terms last year, according to preliminary estimates. That will almost certainly make Ireland the fastest-growing economy in Europe and perhaps the world.<\/p>\n
But the traditional measure of economic growth has become so warped by multinationals that it bears little relation to actual economic conditions on the ground.<\/p>\n
The bulge in 2025 was down to the front-loading of exports into the US to avoid tariffs, something that will unwind next year, resulting in much lower GDP growth. It\u2019s merely statistical noise triggered by Washington\u2019s on-off tariff announcements.<\/p>\n
GDP fell by 0.6 per cent in the final quarter of 2025 \u201cas these export patterns normalised\u201d, AIB chief economist David McNamara noted.<\/p>\n
The more significant of the two statistical measures, new home completions, came in at 36,284 for 2025, which was up 20 per cent on the previous year and ahead of expectations. <\/p>\n