Ireland Slips Back Into Recession As 2012 Shows Shrinkage

Ireland has slipped back into recession after growth from 2012 was revised, indicating that the Celtic nation’s bailed-out recovery from the financial crisis will be much slower than previously thought.

First-quarter results show that GDP shrank 0.6 percent from the previous three months, while revised figures showed a 0.2 percent fourth-quarter shrinkage in 2012.

Analysts had previously forecast growth of 0.3 percent which, combined with a sharp economic downturn, means Ireland had seen three consecutive quarters of contraction and is experiencing its first recession since 2009.

"It clearly shows that we're not immune to what's going on globally. Given these numbers you'd be hard pushed to have growth for the year as a whole," said Alan McQuaid, economist at Merrion Stockbrokers.

Ireland has been one of the few countries in the euro zone that has seen any kind of mild growth, despite serious austerity measures and large tax increases.