This release is categorised as a CSO Frontier Series Output. Particular care must be taken when interpreting the statistics in this release as it is experimental work and uses data sources which are incomplete. The Preliminary estimate is based predominantly on economic Output data and is not based on both Expenditure and Output data therefore results will be subject to revision over time. Publishing the Preliminary Estimate allows the CSO to provide useful new information to users and receive informed feedback on these new methods and outputs whilst at the same time making sure that the limitations are well explained and understood.
Early estimates indicate that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by an estimated 5.5% in Quarter 3 (Q3) 2026, when compared with Q2 2026.
The result was driven mainly by increases in the multinational dominated sectors of Industry and Information & Communication in Q3 2026.
The preliminary GDP estimate shows a seasonally adjusted increase of 5.5% in Q3 2026 in volume terms when compared with Q2 2026.
| Qtr on Qtr | |
| Q1 2023 | -4.9517 |
| Q2 2023 | 0.7421 |
| Q3 2023 | 1.1929 |
| Q4 2023 | -4.847 |
| Q1 2024 | 2.298 |
| Q2 2024 | 0.1013 |
| Q3 2024 | 7.7048 |
| Q4 2024 | 1.765 |
| Q1 2025 | 6.3151 |
| Q2 2025 | -4.1484 |
| Q3 2025 | 1.3894 |
| Q4 2025 | -3.3122 |
| Q1 2026 | -7.8055 |
| Q2 2026 | 10.1834 |
| Q3 2026 | 5.5301 |
| Year on Year | |
| Q1 2023 | 1.5673 |
| Q2 2023 | -1.8374 |
| Q3 2023 | -5.11 |
| Q4 2023 | -7.3832 |
| Q1 2024 | -1.4022 |
| Q2 2024 | -0.9928 |
| Q3 2024 | 4.7173 |
| Q4 2024 | 12.2843 |
| Q1 2025 | 17.897 |
| Q2 2025 | 10.9217 |
| Q3 2025 | 4.7456 |
| Q4 2025 | -0.3842 |
| Q1 2026 | -13.1812 |
| Q2 2026 | -0.4299 |
| Q3 2026 | 3.8527 |
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (29 October 2026) published its latest Preliminary GDP Estimate for Quarter 3 (Q3) 2026. As a CSO Frontier Series output, this release is experimental and care must be taken when interpreting these results as methodologies may change and data sources may be incomplete.
These preliminary results are subject to revisions in the Quarterly National Accounts (QNA) Q3 2026 release, which will be published in early December 2026 when additional data sources are available to the CSO. The results will be further updated following the release of the Annual National Accounts for 2026.
Commenting on the release, Enda Behan, Statistician in the National Accounts Integration Division, said: "In today’s release, GDP is estimated to have expanded by 5.5% in July, August, and September (Q3) 2026 in volume terms when compared with Q2 2026. This was driven by increases in the multinational dominated sectors of Industry and Information & Communication in Q3 2026.
These preliminary estimates are based on forecasting and data sources that are limited in scope when compared with those used for compiling GDP in the CSO’s Quarterly National Accounts. The data sources include information from the CSO Large Cases Unit, Retail Sales, Administrative Payroll Data, and other indicators of activity. Please see the Background Notes for more details on these estimates, the methodology used to calculate the preliminary results and a history of revisions to the preliminary estimate in the subsequent QNA."