Ireland’s economy grew in the coronavirus year 2020, while most of the world’s economies were shrinking due to the crisis. According to Irish Finance minister Paschal Donohue, the economy improved 3.4% despite strict lockdowns against the pandemic in the country.
Irish exports, including health services and IT services, are fully responsible for growth. Ireland is the European home base for major technology groups such as Apple, Google and Facebook. As a result, a contraction in domestic economic activity could be compensated by the lockdowns. To mitigate the impact of the crisis, the Irish government introduced support measures for businesses.
Donohue spoke of “remarkable” figures. Ireland is the only economy in the European Union that managed to avoid contraction in 2020.