Ireland’s gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by 6.0% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, a sharp reversal from the 2.2% annual growth recorded in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to data updated on 29 April 2026.
The latest figures highlight a significant deterioration in Ireland’s economic performance on a year-over-year basis. While the previous quarter’s data showed the economy expanding compared with the same period a year earlier, the first-quarter numbers point to a marked contraction when set against the first quarter of the prior year.
The year-over-year comparison underscores the scale of the shift: the “actual” figure for Q1 2026 reflects the change versus the same quarter in 2025, while the “previous” reading for Q4 2025 measured growth relative to the fourth quarter of 2024. The move from 2.2% growth to a 6.0% decline suggests mounting headwinds for the Irish economy as 2026 begins.
