Press Statement

Preasráiteas

04 June 2021

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) today (04 June 2021) published provisional Quarterly National Accounts and International Accounts for Quarter 1, 2021.

Assistant Director General with responsibility for Economic Statistics, Jennifer Banim, commented:

“Tightening of COVID-19 related restrictions led to lower levels of economic activity for many of the sectors focused on the domestic market in Quarter 1 (Q1) 2021. The Distribution, Transport, Hotels & Restaurants sector contracted by 9.9% while the Construction sector decreased by 23.4% and Agriculture fell by 5.2%. Real Estate Activities recorded growth of 6.2% in the quarter and the Arts, Entertainment & Other Activities sector increased by 3.8%. Growth continued in the more globalised sectors with the Information & Communication sector increasing by 19.1% while Industry increased by 12.8% in the quarter. Overall the MNE-dominated sectors grew by 17.9% compared with Q4 2020 while the non-MNE sectors declined by 2.1% in the quarter.

The impact of the restrictions in the quarter can also be seen when we look at expenditure in the economy, with personal spending on goods and services (the Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) indicator) decreasing by 5.1% in Q1 2021. Government spending on goods and services increased by 1.1% in the quarter.

Overall, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is estimated to have increased by 7.8% in Q1 2021, with the falls in personal consumption and capital investment more than offset by the combined effect of the 5.8% growth in Exports of Goods & Services and the 8.9% decrease in total Imports in the quarter. Gross National Product (GNP) - a measure of economic activity that excludes the profits of multinationals - decreased by 1.0%, driven by increased multinational profit outflows in Q1 2021.”

Commenting on the impact of globalisation activities in the quarter, Ms Banim said:

“Final Domestic Demand, a measure of investment, personal and Government spending, contracted by 9.9% in Q1 2021, reflecting the lower levels of investment in Intellectual Property Products (IPP) compared with the previous quarter. Modified Domestic Demand (MDD), an important indicator of underlying domestic demand that excludes IPP and aircraft related effects, decreased by 2.9% in Q1 2021.

In International Accounts results for Q1 2021, the Current Account of the Balance of Payments recorded a surplus of €18.4 billion in flows with the rest of the world. Net outflows of multinational profits were €24.5 billion in the quarter, an increase of €8.8 billion on Q1 2020 levels.

Today’s International Accounts publication includes a table of Current Account transactions with the UK. The results show a surplus of €4.9 billion for Trade in Goods & Services with the UK in Q1 2021. The trade surplus was offset by a deficit of €1.5 billion for income flows, giving an overall Current Account surplus of €3.4 billion with the UK in the quarter.”

Also launched this week is the updated National Accounts Explained section of the CSO website. The improved National Accounts Explained section provides a clear and helpful guide to the terms used in National Accounts to help users to make the most of the macroeconomic outputs. It goes through terms, like GDP, GNI and modified GNI, for those who are unfamiliar with them or new to the accounts. It also delves into some of the technicalities of the accounts like FISIM and imputed rent.

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