How weight-loss drug Mounjaro is making Ireland the world’s fastest-growing economy

Pharma giant Eli Lilly manufactures the ingredients for its weight-loss drug Mounjaro and its diabetes drug Zepbound in Kinsale, Co Cork.

The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (Ifac) has found that the unprecedented surge in Irish exports this year (exports to the US rose by 153 per cent to €71bn between January and May) was almost entirely driven by shipments of these ingredients.

Ifac tracked about €36.4bn of this export surge to Indianapolis, where Eli Lilly is headquartered and where it has several manufacturing sites.

The jump in exports is expected to see the Irish economy expand by almost 11 per cent in GDP terms this year, which is almost certain to make it the fastest-growing advanced economy in the world in 2025.

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So with such an over-reliance on foreign direct investment, notably in the pharma sector, at a time of tariff threats and uncertainty, how vulnerable is Ireland?

Economics correspondent Eoin Burke-Kennedy explains.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan and Andrew McNair.