The Irish economy grew faster than expected last year, according to official figures from the CSO.

It says GDP grew by 5.2 per cent last year - significantly higher than the 4.7 per cent expected in the Budget.

GNP, which strips out the impact of multinationals, shows an even-higher increase of 6.9 per cent.

Statistician Michael Connolly says Ireland's economy is now the same size as it was before the collapse: