Economic growth down to a crawl, says CSO

The Irish economy has slowed down considerably with just a 0.1% growth in Gross National Product being recorded by the Central Statistics Office last year.

GNP is seen as the most accurate reflection on the economy’s performance ‘internally’ as it measures the wealth generated by Irish citizens and companies and not overseas companies with offices based here.

Gross Domestic Product rose by 6.9% but most of this gain has been attributed to ‘transfer pricing’ by multinationals.

Consumer spending continues to power the economy with an 8.9% increase recorded in 2002.

Exports exceeded imports by over €24m.

Giving most cause for alarm is the deficit of €1,039m which was recorded in the current account of the Balance of Payments.

During the same period last year saw a small surplus of €45 million was reported.