Irish Jan-March GDP rises 1.4 percent quarter-on-quarter

DUBLIN, July 30 (Reuters) - Ireland (Other OTC: IRLD - news) 's economy grew by 1.4 percent quarter-on-quarter in the first three months of the year, in a recovery that is forecast to make it the fastest-growing economy in Europe for the second year running in 2015.

The strong start followed better than initially estimated growth of 1.2 percent in the fourth quarter and put gross domestic product (GDP) 6.5 percent ahead of the first quarter a year ago, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) said.

Ireland's economy expanded by 5.2 percent last year, revised up on Thursday from 4.8 percent previously, its highest growth rate since 2007 and the best performance in the European Union.

In the first quarter, exports rose 2.3 percent quarter-on-quarter and personal consumption was up 1.2 percent compared with the final three months of 2014.

That was in line with a range of other figures, from robust retail sales to shrinking unemployment, that Ireland's central bank said on Wednesday pointed to an increase in the pace of domestic demand growth in the first half of this year.

The central bank also raised its forecasts for the economy, predicting expansion of more than 4 percent for 2015 and 2016. Finance Minister Michael Noonan has said growth this year may be slightly more than the 4 percent the government currently forecasts.

"The figures show upward momentum, particularly in the domestic economy. It definitely points to 4 percent plus and its possible to imagine 5," Austin Hughes, Chief Economist, KBC Bank Ireland, said. (Reporting by Padraic Halpin and Conor Humphries; Editing by Hugh Lawson)