Ireland poised for 'blow-out economic growth' if Covid variants don't disrupt reopening

The success of the foreign-owned chemical, pharma, and IT firms was reflected in the export numbers.

Ireland is poised for a blow out economic growth this year if the pharma and IT exporting boom continues and if the Covid variants don't disrupt the reopening of the domestic economy, leading economists have predicted.          

Analysts said Ireland's economy could post double-digit growth and mark the fastest expansion of any advanced country in the world after the CSO unveiled figures that showed that the exports of multinationals drove a huge increase in GDP in the first quarter compared with the last three months of 2020.