Former Central Bank governor Patrick Honohan urges exceptional caution over Irish GDP during pandemic

Former Central Bank governor Patrick Honohan: '2021 is a good time to be exceptionally cautious into reading too much into changes in GDP because they are bouncing around by an enormous amount.'

Former Central Bank governor Patrick Honohan said everyone should be "exceptionally cautious" about reading too much into surging GDP numbers this year as the country seeks to restore living standards to pre-pandemic levels.  

The remarks come amid renewed concern from many economists that the huge distortions caused by multinationals in Ireland's national accounts are showing an overly rosy picture, as the GDP headline figure shows a world-beating double-digit surge in economic growth.