DAVY VIEW

Not surprisingly, the Central Statistics Office’s (CSO) breakdown of Ireland’s 6% GDP growth in Q2 2019 showed a buoyant multinational sector (+12%). Technology, business services and pharmaceuticals are boosting GDP growth, helped by foreign direct investment (FDI) and intellectual property (IP) asset transfers. In contrast, indigenous sectors (+3.2%) have slowed, perhaps due to Brexit uncertainty. Still, the breakdown highlights the upside risks to our 4% GDP forecast for 2020, which would require the multinational sector to slow, of which there is no sign.