Ireland’s economy grew 5.2% last year, outstripping all other Eurozone countries and most official forecasts for the third successive year.

While the rate of growth is a fraction of the 26% recorded for 2015, that figure was largely seen as an aberration. The latest quarterly national accounts from the Irish Central Statistics Office (CSO) suggest output increased in all sectors of the economy.

The figures show gross domestic product (GDP) accelerated 5.2% in 2016, while gross national product (GNP) rose 9%. The bigger GNP number reflects the profits associated with so-called ‘re-domiciled PLCs’, which have relocated their headquarters back to Ireland for tax purposes.

On a quarterly basis, GDP advanced 2.4% in Q4 2016, down from the 4% recorded for the three months to September. Personal consumption, which accounts for almost half of domestic demand and ranks as the best indicator of local economic activity, rose 3%.

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan welcomed the latest figures, saying the Government was committed to remaining vigilant in the face of an increasingly uncertain external environment. While his department expects growth to stay above 3% over the next three years, it has also estimated that a ‘hard Brexit’ – involving Britain exiting the EU’s single market entirely – could knock about 3.5% off Irish GDP over the next decade.