Bernard Durkan
Question:70. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Finance the extent to which GDP per capita here compares with other European countries; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8815/14]
View answerThursday, 20 February 2014
Questions (70)
Written answers
Annual data on gross domestic product (GDP) per capita across the EU are available from Eurostat. These figures show that in 2012, Ireland's GDP per capita adjusted for Purchasing Power Standards was €33,200, the fifth highest in Europe and third highest in the euro area, behind only Luxembourg and Austria. The level in Ireland compares to an average of €25,500 across the EU28 and of €27,500 across the euro area's then-17 Member States; comparable data on the euro area 18 are not yet available.
However, in the Irish case (as with some other Member States) the presence of a large number of foreign-owned multinationals can impact considerably on the level of GDP. The gap between GDP and gross national income (GNI) which strips out the net income generated from economic activity in Ireland but which is repatriated abroad is relatively large in Ireland (GNI also nets out transfers and subsidies from the EU). European Commission data suggest that GNI per capita (in current prices and unadjusted for price differentials between countries) in Ireland was the 8th highest of the 18 euro area Member States in 2012 and 14 per cent above the EU average.