EU: Irish output is distorted

Multinationals assigning a very high value to products being finished in Ireland in order to avail of tax advantages are distorting the country’s productivity figures, according to the EU.

At three times the average, Ireland has by far the highest labour productivity in manufacturing of any country in the EU. It is more than double that of Germany.

The true value of goods manufactured in Ireland is “to some extent inflated by research and marketing activities undertaken mainly outside Ireland, as well as by transfer pricing”, said the report.