Irish manufacturers benefiting from economic recovery

The prospects for continued growth across the Irish economy got another boost yesterday, with a reputable survey suggesting that manufacturers are at last benefiting from a pickup in demand at home - not just from surging demand for their exports - and are also hiring more people.

The Investec Purchasing Managers Index for the Republic of Ireland is widely seen as a leading index which has accurately predicted the outlook for manufacturing and a corresponding wider economic upturn, starting in June 2013.

It covers responses from 285 industrial companies across all types of manufacturing, including food and pharmaceutical firms, and attempts to match these firms’ contribution to Irish GDP. It is cited by international organisations, including the former bailout lenders at the IMF and the EU, as a dependable forecasting tool.