Economy still has ample scope to pleasantly surprise

The past number of years have seen a strong recovery by the Irish economy that has surpassed all expectations, writes Oliver Mangan.

This has been led by robust export growth but there has also been a strong rebound in domestic demand, including business investment, construction and consumer spending.

The latest National Accounts data show that the economy grew by 5.5% year-on- year in the first half of 2017.