Irish gross domestic product fell by 2.7% quarter-on-quarter between January and March but stood 6.4% higher than a year ago, according to a preliminary estimate reading published by the Central Statistics Office on Thursday.

The government has long cautioned against using GDP to accurately measure economic growth as it is routinely inflated by multinational activity. Its preferred measure, modified domestic demand, is not included in the early estimates.

The quarter one fall was driven mainly by a drop in the industry sector from very high levels in the second half of 2022, the CSO said. Irish GDP increased by 12% in 2022, while modified domestic demand rose by 8.2% for the year as a whole. (Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Alison Williams)