Sex and drugs help add €1.2bn to GDP

Prostitution and drugs accounted for €1.258bn to the country’s economic activity last year, according to the Central Statistics Office, which is refusing to divulge how it estimates the economic impact of illegal activity.

The Government has been forced to revise how it accounts for economic activity following a new regulation from the EU Commission requiring all member states to include the ‘black market’ in their final tally.

In the case of Ireland, 2013 nominal GDP increased from €164.1bn to €174.8bn. The narcotics and prostitution trades accounted for €1.258bn of this increase.