Irish manufacturing growth returns to 15-year high -PMI

DUBLIN, March 2 (Reuters) - Irish manufacturing activity rebounded in February to a 15-year high after a relatively weak January as strong new orders helped boost employment in the sector, a survey showed on Monday.

The Investec Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, climbed to 57.5 in February from 55.1 a month earlier. It has been above the 50 mark denoting growth for most of the past two years.

Ireland (Other OTC: IRLD - news) 's economy has rebounded strongly since it exited an EU-IMF bailout in late 2013, with the government estimating gross domestic product grew by around 5 percent last year --probably be the fastest in the European Union if confirmed.

Investec Ireland chief economist Philip O'Sullivan described the manufacturing survey as "surprisingly good" considering uncertainty around Greece and Ukraine and Britain's May 7 general election.

If it wins, the ruling Conservative Party has pledged to hold a referendum on the country's European Union membership, which would have implications for Ireland, whose biggest trading partner is Britain.

"Today's report gives an indication of how resilient this growth is, but we would caution that any uncertainty ahead of the upcoming UK election is likely to put that to the test," O'Sullivan said.

The subindex measuring employment hit its highest level since the survey began in 1998 as firms beefed up capacity. New (KOSDAQ: 160550.KQ - news) orders hit a six-month high of 59.3.

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For further information, please phone Markit on +44 20 7260 2454 or email economics@markit.com (Reporting by Conor Humphries; Editing by Catherine Evans)