Eurostat figures reveal impact of cuts

The effects of government spending cuts and a drop in purchasing by households shows in the latest figures released by Eurostat where consumption fell the most of all EU countries after Greece.

The GDP figures held up relatively well falling from 128% of the EU average in 2010 to 127% last year, making Ireland the fourth richest country in the union on paper.

They have dropped from 150% in 2007 at the height of the boom when the country had the highest GDP in the EU after Luxembourg. However, GDP figures especially for Ireland are notoriously unreliable as they include sums passing through the country and profits of multi-nationals.