New data shows Ireland has officially climbed out of recession again this year. The release of figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) revealed growth of 0.4 percent in the second quarter of the year. However, this growth was still less than many had predicted, with economists having forecast GDP to have expanded by 0.8 percent between April and June.
The construction sector was highlighted by the CSO as one of the industries that has helped the country to climb out of recession in the last few months. It is now projected that growth for the year as a whole is set to reach as high as 1.3 percent. Ireland's recovery is in stark contrast to the ongoing difficulties being seen in Cyprus. Earlier in the month, it was announced that its economy fell 1.8 percent between April and June compared with the first quarter. This was an eighth quarterly contraction in a row and means its economy is now shrinking faster than at any point in the last 40 years.