Opinion: Mounting headwinds pose stiff challenge to Irish ‘golden export era’

The latest international trade statistics show that Ireland’s exporters had their best year ever, growing hugely faster than the European average and knocking at the quarter of a trillion euro in export value in 2015.

Manufactured goods exporters led the drive with a massive growth in sales, powered by the pharmaceutical and medical devices firms who opted to expand in Ireland after the merger and acquisition flurry of recent years in the sector.

In fact, the only weakness was in the agri-food industry, but it still managed a small growth despite the damage from the dairy price collapse.