This is more deceptive growth than ever. If Ireland stood out last year as the only European country to grow GDP, it is only thanks to the work of many multinational companies established on its soil.

The country was wiped out despite the epidemic 3.4% growth The Central Bureau of Statistics said on Friday. Exports rose 6.25 percent thanks to the performance of foreign groups such as Apple, Google, Pfizer and Novartis.

“Today’s figures again show the double economic impact of the Pandemic”, Explained Irish Finance Minister Pascal Donohue. On the one hand, it has helped multinational tech companies to jump on the bandwagon of products, injections and immunosuppressive products linked to Kovid to the rise of televising and large pharmaceutical companies.

On the other hand, it affected the local economy, which took the full impact of the regulatory measures. As a result, supply, transport, hotel and catering fell by 16.7 per cent and construction by 12.7 per cent. The arts and entertainment sectors were shocked. There was a 54 percent drop in activity. Exports of local businesses, both in food and beverage, declined.

A sharp decline in consumption

But the burden of multinational corporations increased the Irish GDP by 26% in 2015, a ridiculous frontier. By 2020, these companies will have grown by 18.2%. Their share of the economy increased to 50 percent of value added in a year by 2020. It was 43.4 per cent last year.

With the exception of multinational companies, Irish GDP fell 5.4 percent last year, much higher than the rest of the European Union (6.8 percent on average), reflecting the impact of the virus on businesses and Irish households. Consumer spending fell 9%, more than double the 2009 financial crisis.

The finance minister expects the Irish economy to shrink further in the first quarter of this year, and the country with the highest per capita infection rate in the world in early January is currently in its third lockdown. During the first container, its impact must have been less than last spring, especially when the level of pollution was as impressive as the rapid peak of January.