Low-tax Irish economy grows 26.3pc in a year

Ireland's economy grew by a barely believable 26.3 percent last year, according to official data published on Tuesday which was largely skewed by companies relocating to Ireland for tax purposes.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) said the country's gross domestic product had increased "significantly" in 2015 as it drastically upgraded a previous estimate of 7.8 percent growth.

The boost in gross domestic product comes chiefly from companies moving to Ireland which shift their capital stocks onto the country's balance sheet.

Ireland has a corporate tax rate of just 12.5 percent -- a point of bitter contention with other EU member states -- and hosts the European headquarters of US tech giants including Google and Facebook.

The economy has in any case performed well in recent years. Ireland has recovered from the global financial crisis and the economy was already by far the fastest growing in the eurozone.