Ireland recorded 13.2 per cent growth in industrial production between November 2012 and November 2013, according to the latest figures from the EU's statistics office Eurostat.
This is the highest increase in the EU ahead of Slovakia (+12.7 per cent), the Czech Republic (+8.8 per cent) and Romania (+8.7 per cent).
Ireland also had the highest month on month increase between October and November last year, rising 11.7 per cent, compared to EU average growth of 1.5 per cent and a Euro Area average of 1.9 per cent.
Euro zone industrial production in November rose much more than expected, signalling stronger momentum behind the bloc’s economic recovery in the last quarter of 2013.
Industrial production in 17 countries sharing the euro jumped 1.8 per cent in November, after an upwardly revised 0.8 per cent drop in October, Eurostat said.
The monthly rise, the euro zone’s strongest since May 2010, was fueled by a jump in the output of capital goods and a 2.2 per cent rise in the production of durable consumer goods, such as electronics and cars.
Compared with the same period of last year, industrial production rose 3.0 per cent in November after a upwardly revised 0.5 per cent rise in October.
The data points to a slight acceleration of the economic recovery of the €9.5 trillion economy in the last quarter of 2013 compared with the previous three months, when it nearly stalled because of a weak performance of France and Italy.
Production in the bloc’s largest economy, Germany, grew 2.4 per cent on the month in November, showing its strongest rise since July 2011, while output in the second largest France rose 1.4 per cent.
French president Francois Hollande is to unveil a new reform agenda this afternoon to give fresh impetus the economy.
The southern periphery, where the crisis erased tens of thousands of jobs and sent countries into the arms of international creditors, saw some improvement as Spain’s output returned to growth and Portugal’s production was up by 1.5 per cent.
Additional reporting: Reuters
