Irish economy rebounds in second quarter

Ireland's economy grew 1.4 percent in the second quarter, official data showed Friday, following a decline in output for the eurozone nation in the first three months of the year.

The rebound in gross domestic product (GDP) in the April-June period followed a contraction of 3.5 percent in the first quarter, the Central Statistics Office said in usually volatile data.

The CSO added that GDP jumped 5.8 percent in the second quarter compared with the equivalent period in 2016.

"Apart from small contractions in the construction and real estate sectors, all other sectors of the economy experienced some growth" in the second quarter, noted Jennifer Banim, assistant director general with responsibility for economic statistics at the CSO.

"Looking at expenditure in the economy, personal consumption of goods and services, an important measure of domestic economic activity, declined by 1.1 percent" during the same period, she added.

Ireland is recovering after being forced into taking a huge international bailout following the global financial crisis that began almost a decade ago.

Last week, its government said it would repay early the remaining 4.5 billion euros ($5.4 billion) of bailout loans to the International Monetary Fund.

A fresh major concern for Ireland is the outcome of Brexit talks for its key trading partner Britain. Great uncertainty surrounds how the border between British province Northern Ireland and Ireland will be managed after Britain's formal exit from the European Union.