Maybe austerity is working:
We should and will await more data, not to mention data revisions, but in the meantime it is correct to be surprised by the much-better-than-expected Irish growth performance, and at a difficult global time at that; you can’t claim the American and European growth locomotives pulled them out of the slump. This expert on the Irish economy offers a sector-by-sector breakdown of the new numbers and he too admits he was surprised.
The Dish 