(Alliance News) - Ireland's economic growth slumped in the final quarter of 2020 amid stringent coronavirus restrictions, figures from the Central Statistics Office showed on Friday.
On an annual basis, Ireland's economy grew 1.5% in the fourth quarter, slowing sharply from 8.7% growth in the previous quarter.
Ireland's gross domestic product contracted 5.1% quarter-on-quarter in the fourth quarter, after growing 11.1% in the third quarter.
The final quarter of 2020 saw varying levels of restrictions as the country grappled with a third wave of Covid-19.
Jennifer Banim, assistant director general with responsibility for Economic Statistics, said: "The pandemic impacted various sectors of the economy differently during 2020 as the levels of Covid-19 related restrictions changed over the year. Today's results show the overall annual impact and the underlying quarterly variations as the levels of restrictions changed throughout the year.
"Sectors focused on the domestic market experienced significantly lower levels of economic activity in 2020, with the Distribution, Transport, Hotels & Restaurants sector contracting by 16.7% and Construction decreasing by 12.7%. Growth continued in the more globalised sectors with Industry increasing by 15.2% while the Information & Communication sector increased by 14.3% in the year.
"Overall, multinational sector growth was 18.2% and in 2020, these sectors accounted for 50.0% of total value added in the economy, compared with a 43.4% share in 2019. The Arts & Entertainment sector contracted by 54.4% in 2020."
Ireland is currently under Level 5 regulations, meaning people should only leave their homes for essential purposes such as work, food shopping and exercise.
By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
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