Ireland leads in fight for manufacturing jobs for now

These are good days for Ireland’s manufacturers as a resurgent economy driven by home-grown and foreign investment provide the biggest turnaround since the financial collapse 10 years ago, writes John Whelan 

The rate of growth at 15% was particularly striking — the average industrial growth rate recorded across all EU countries was a mere 1.2% in the period.

To put the performance in perspective, manufacturing now accounts for almost a third of all economic output by GDP, double of the share of a decade ago of 17%, and well above the global average, leaving countries such as Germany, the US, and the UK well behind.