Irish economy shrinks 0.3pc in last year

DUBLIN, Mar 13 (AFP): Eurozone member Ireland, which exited an international bailout programme at the end of last year, saw its economy shrink by 0.3 per cent in 2013, official data showed on Thursday.
Gross domestic product dropped after a 2.3-per cent contraction to output in the final quarter of last year compared with the previous three-month period, the Central Statistics Office said in a statement.
"Preliminary estimates indicate that GDP in volume terms decreased by 0.3 per cent for the year 2013," the CSO said.
"On a seasonally adjusted basis ... GDP for the fourth quarter of 2013 declined by 2.3 per cent compared with the previous quarter."
Industry made the most negative contribution to the fourth-quarter result, falling by 4.7 per cent, the CSO added.
Output was hit also by a 10.5-per cent decline to net exports during the final quarter of the year, largely owing to higher imports.
In December 2013, Ireland became the first of the rescued eurozone countries to exit its bailout programme following a period of state spending cuts and tax rises, but its economy remains fragile despite falling unemployment.
Ireland's unemployment rate sank to a near five-year low of 11.9 per cent in February, official data revealed last week.
Dublin had turned to the International Monetary Fund and European Union in November 2010 for an 85-billion-euro ($118.6 billion) lifeline following a banking crash and one of history's worst housing bubbles.