The Irish economy shrank in the first three months of the year, according to official data published on Friday.

Year on year growth remains robust, and the surprise fall reflects the impact of distortions linked to multinationals shifting assets into Ireland in 2016, officials said.

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Official CSO data shows the economy declined by 2.6pc, measured by gross domestic product in the first three months of 2017, and shrank by 7.1pc using the alternative gross national product measure.

However, stripping out the effects of multinationals growth in the so called real economy remains positive.

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