Naysayers defied by dynamic Irish economy

It is always a challenge to measure the temperature of any economy as official data tends to be historic and forecasts are by definition estimates rather than facts.

However, every six months a large group of stockmarket-quoted companies is obliged to divulge their financial performance and that can reveal a lot about the state of their business environments.

In recent weeks, an eclectic range of Irish companies have released their results for 2013, and in doing so they have also provided insights into how 2014 has begun. In the round, this assessment is broadly positive.