New figures claim Ireland's economy grew by a stunning 26 per cent last year.
The CSO figures are influenced by a dramatic number of companies relocating to Ireland - including massive aircraft leasing firms.
The figures are a revision of the CSO's first estimate for growth in Ireland in 2016, which had estimated Ireland's GDP had grown at a healthy 7.8%.
By comparison to Ireland's new official figure of 26.3%, the next-fastest growing economy in the EU is Slovakia, with growth last year at 4.0%.
Finance minister Michael Noonan, while not referring to the headline figure, says the data against suggests "that Ireland’s economy continues to grow. Peoples’ lives are improving with more at work than at any time since the onset of the downturn.
"We no longer need to impose swingeing cuts to public services rather we have room to invest in services and infrastructure," he added.
But economists are pouring cold water on the figures - saying they should be taken with a pinch of salt.
Our political correspondent Gavan Reilly filed this report for Today FM's National Lunchtime News:
