The economy grew strongly in the second quarter of the year, according to the latest data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The CSO's quarterly national accounts show the country's GDP - which measures the amount of goods and services produced in the economy each year - grew by 5.4 per cent in the second quarter of 2007 compared with the same period of the previous year.
GNP, which excludes the profits of foreign-owned enterprises, grew by 4.5 per cent.
Consumer spending remained strong, showing an increase of 6.1 per cent in the three months compared to the same period of 2006.
Capital investment was 6.5 per cent higher than the second quarter of 2006.
Net output of Industry increased by 1.1 per cent; the output of Distribution, Transport and Communications increased by 6.4 per cent; and output of Other Services was 7.8 per cent higher in the second quarter of this year compared with the same period of last year.