Leaving Certificate Resources

Leaving Certificate 2026: Economics Research Project

Economics Research Study Brief 2026

Research Topic 1

Candidates are required to pursue an individual line of inquiry analysing and evaluating the impact of one recent external economic shock (since 2020) on Ireland’s economic resilience under the following two headings:

Analyse and evaluate the economic implications of the external economic shock on a firm or firms in Ireland within one of the following sectors:

• The agrifood sector
• The energy sector
• The information and communications technology (ICT) sector
• The pharmaceutical sector

Analyse and evaluate how your chosen external shock has exposed weaknesses in the economic resilience of Irish government economic policy.

OR

Research Topic 2

Candidates are required to pursue an individual line of inquiry analysing and evaluating the impact of one recent external economic shock (since 2020) on consumer behaviour in Ireland and on Ireland’s fiscal sustainability under the following two headings:

The economic implications of the external economic shock for consumer behaviour within one of the following areas:

• Consumer spending on energy
• Consumer spending on food
• Consumer spending on housing (including actual rental payments)

Analyse and evaluate the implications of Irish government supports to households in the aftermath of the shock for Ireland’s fiscal sustainability.

A list of CSO resources relevant to the project briefs is listed here:

International Accounts

• The International Accounts release incorporates the Balance of International Payments (BOP), International Investment Position and External Debt statistics. It provides a statement of Ireland’s economic flows with the rest of the world and Ireland’s stocks of foreign financial assets and liabilities.
• Summaries of Current and Capital Accounts (including exports and imports of merchandise and services) are produced quarterly, as well as accounts with the UK and the US.
• International Trade in Services data is also available annually.

PxStat Tables: Annual, Quarterly

 External Trade in Goods

• Goods Exports and Imports statistics provide data on the movement of goods between countries. The monthly and annual trade releases provide detailed analysis on the exports of goods from Ireland and imports of goods into Ireland at the country and commodity (good) level.
• The monthly release also includes seasonally adjusted trade figures.

PxStat Tables

Compensation of Employees

• Compensation of Employees (COE) is the total wage bill paid by employers to their employees in return for work done. It includes wages and salaries and employers' social contributions.
• In the Annual National Accounts release, information on the components of GDP, including COE, is found in the 'GDP by Incomes' chapter. In the Quarterly National Accounts, the relevant chapter is 'Compensation of Employees'.

PxStat Tables: NA004, NA005, NA018

Survey on Income and Living Conditions

• The Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) household survey is the official source of data on household and individual income. It provides a number of key national poverty indicators, such as: the at risk of poverty rate, the rate of enforced deprivation, and the consistent poverty rate. 
• SILC also provides further insight on the impact of challenges that face Irish society, for example, the impact of COVID-19 income supports, and the impact cost-of-living measures had on income and poverty rates.
• The impact of cost-of-living measures on poverty rates by self-perceived health status is also available.
• In addition to SILC, the Income Consumption and Wealth Division published a series of releases investigating the social impact of COVID-19.

PxStat Tables

Household Budget Survey

• The primary purpose of the Household Budget Survey (HBS) is to ensure that the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the official measure of inflation, continues to be based on up-to-date and accurate household expenditure. The data collected in the HBS is used to measure the cost of living in Ireland. The most recent release published is HBS 2022-2023.

PxStat Tables

Output, Input & Income in Agriculture / Agriculture Accounts

• The Output, Input & Income in Agriculture release provides detailed estimates of major items of agricultural accounts such as outputs, input costs, gross and net value added, and operating surplus.

PxStat Tables

Energy

• The CSO publish metered electricity and gas consumption data annually which gives information on both domestic and business consumption levels.
• The CSO also produce metered electricity and gas bills data annually.
• The Fuel Excise Clearances release is published monthly and contains details on volumes of fuel for transport. It includes links to energy costs in the WPI (Wholesale Price Indicator) data.
• The Business Energy Use survey (BEU) provides data on the quantities and costs of energy products purchased by enterprises.

PxStat Tables: Metered Electricity Consumption, Trends in Metered Electricity and Gas Bills, Fuel Excise Clearances

Enterprise Statistics

• The CSO’s Business in Ireland Series offers comprehensive insights into the economic activity and performance of businesses in Ireland over time.

Retail and Services

• The Monthly Services Index (MSI) monitors short term trends in output of enterprises in the non-financial traded services sector. The monthly release shows seasonally adjusted value and volume indices for the Monthly Service Index. It highlights the performance of the Information & Communication sector.

PxStat Table: MSA03

Industry

• Industrial Production and Turnover (IPT) monitors the volume of production and the value of turnover of industrial local units. The survey produces two key indices: the monthly production index and the monthly turnover index. Each monthly release provides insights into the performance of the globalised Modern sector, which encompasses the Chemical, Pharmaceutical, and Computer & Electronic industries.

PxStat Tables: MSM01, MIA05

Personal Consumption Expenditure

• The Annual National Accounts (ANA) release shows the state of the Irish economy by publishing various economic indicators, including some measures of consumption, such as Final Consumption Expenditure (FCE) by households, a component of Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE).
• As part of these releases, other figures relating to consumption are also published, such as market production purchased by government for households.
• Figures are produced annually on a granular level in terms of the Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose (COICOP), an international classification system of household expenditure.

PxStat Tables: NA022, NA023

Housing

• The Housing Hub provides information on housing in Ireland, including property prices and rent prices. Information on actual rental payments and imputed rental payments is also available through the previously mentioned Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) releases.

PxStat Tables

Consumer Prices

• The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is designed to measure the change in the average level of prices (inclusive of all indirect taxes) paid for consumer goods and services by all private and institutional households in the country and by foreign tourists holidaying in Ireland. The Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) is a subset of the CPI and allows for comparison of price changes across the EU and Eurozone countries.
• The weights for the Consumer Price Index can be found on the methodological documents page and provide an insight into the changing expenditure patterns of households over time and how different items contribute to the overall inflation rate.

PxStat Tables

Government Supports

• The CSO publishes Government Finance Statistics on a quarterly and annual basis. These releases include statistics such as expenditure and debt. Social Protection Expenditure releases provide information annually on total social expenditure and breakdowns by function.

PxStat Tables

List of Project Resources by theme

For a condensed list of all resources by project theme, please see the table below.