Macroeconomic Statistics Liaison Group Meeting
Location: Central Statistics Office, Ardee Road, Rathmines
Date: Tuesday 28th August 2018
Attendees:
Loretta O’Sullivan (BOI), Diarmuid Smyth (Central Bank), Justin Flannery (D/Fin), Mike Fahy (D/Fin), Adele Bergin (ESRI), Annette Hughes (EY), Kevin Timoney (IFAC), Paul Goldrick-Kelly (NERI)
CSO: Michael Connolly, John Sheridan, Paul Murphy, Shaun McLaughlin, Oisín Mangan, Ruth O’Shaughnessy, Eoin Flaherty
Apologies:
Austin Hughes (KBC), Seamus Coffey (IFAC).
Minutes:
- Michael Connolly distributed Tables 9 to 12 of the National Income and Expenditure 2017 release, which were subsequently published on September 6th. These tables provide a consistent picture across the NIE and the Institutional Sector Accounts, in line with ESA 2010 methodologies. Tables 8-12 of the National Income and Expenditure 2017
- Paul Murphy – a Statistician in the Business Statistics division – gave an overview of construction sector statistics. The data sources and methodology used in the compilation of the quarterly Production in Building and Construction Index, and the annual Building and Construction Inquiry, were presented. The limitations of different deflators to derive a cost of construction index vs. a price of construction index were discussed.
- Shaun McLaughlin – a Statistician in National Accounts – gave an overview of the data sources and calculation used to estimate Gross Fixed Capital Formation in construction. A compositional issue in the recently-published 2017 NIE was discussed.
- Recent work by Michael Connolly, Yvonne Hayden and Eoin Flaherty on productivity in Ireland up to 2016 was presented. Michael went through data on labour productivity, while Eoin talked about nominal unit labour costs, and the inputs of GVA. The series will be extended to include 2017 data by early 2019, with work ongoing on the quality of labour inputs, more aligned to the KLEMS approach. The publication is availebl herer: Productivity in Ireland 2016
- The next meeting will be held after the publication of the 2018Q3 Quarterly National Accounts. A short summary of the methodological differences in the treatment of tourism data across the suite of statistical outputs will be presented.
