Business group Ibec said — even amid the “massive worry” that Brexit is savaging a number of Irish-owned industries — that overall employment levels will return to their pre-crash peak at the end of next year.

GDP numbers suggesting the economy leaped in the latest quarter again overstate the strength of the economy, analysts have said, as a wary eye is kept on the potential Brexit fallout in the coming months.

The Irish economy is set for growth of over 5% this year, with upward momentum to continue into 2016, but further recovery could still be indirectly affected by China’s weakening economy.