New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the economy as measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contracted last year by more than previously estimated.
The revised data shows that GDP shrank by 5.5% in 2023, compared to the original estimate of a 3.2% contraction.
The CSO said the fall was driven largely by a 13.8% fall in exports.
The fall followed strong growth of 9.4% in 2022 and 13.6% in 2021.
However, Gross National Product (GNP) which is a measure of economic activity that excludes the profits of multinationals, grew by 5.5% in the year.
While Modified Domestic Demand (MDD), which is considered a better measure of the underlying health of the domestic economy, grew more strongly than previously thought, expanding by 2.6%.
The previous CSO estimate had put the MDD growth at 0.5%.
Minister for Finance Jack Chambers welcomed the figures which he said confirmed strong growth in the domestic economy last year as already reflected in our tax receipts.
"Despite facing significant inflationary pressures, consumer spending nevertheless drove growth in the domestic economy last year," he said.
"Compared with the previous year, consumer spending increased by nearly 5% last year. This performance reflects the strength of the labour market, which has been at full employment since mid-2022."
Meanwhile, the economy as measured by GDP grew by less than originally thought during the first three months of the year.
The updated CSO data shows GDP rose by 0.7% between January and the end of March when compared to the previous quarter.
That compares to the original estimate of 0.9% growth, with the downward revision due to a significant contraction in multinational dominated sectors.
However, MDD only grew by 1%, compared to the original estimate earlier this year of 1.4%.
GNP fell by 7%, the CSO said.
GDP fell by more than previously estimated in 2023 - CSO
New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the economy as measured by Gross Domestic Product contracted last year by more than previously estimated.
Leprechaun economics was a term coined by economist Paul Krugman to describe the 26.3 per cent rise in Irish 2015 GDP, later revised to 34.4 per cent, in a 12 July 2016 publication by the Irish Central Statistics Office (CSO), restating 2015 Irish national accounts. At that point, the distortion of Irish economic data by tax-driven accounting flows reached a climax. In 2020, Krugman said the term was a feature of all tax havens.
While the event that caused the artificial Irish GDP growth occurred in Q1 2015, the Irish CSO had to delay its GDP revision and redact the release of its regular economic data in 2016–2017 to protect the source's identity, as required by Irish law. Only in Q1 2018 could economists confirm Apple as the source, and that this was the largest ever base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) action, and the largest hybrid–tax inversion of a U.S. corporation.
