In a quarter of weak economic growth, Ireland has posted the highest growth rate compared with output in the previous quarter of all the euro zone countries.
Official figures for the first quarter of 2010 show that the euro zone gross domestic product (GDP) grew by an average of just 0.2 per cent, amid tough spending cuts across the single currency area. Ireland's GDP, however, was at the very top end of the scale, growing by 2.7 per cent.
Growth across the wider 27-nation EU, which includes Britain and Poland, was also 0.2 per cent between January and March compared with the previous quarter, according to the Eurostat agency.
Howard Archer, a senior economist at IHS Global Insight, said the weakness of the figures was disappointing.
“Worryingly, there are signs in the very latest survey that an aggressive tightening of fiscal policy in a number of countries is starting to weigh down on economic activity," he said.
Archer added that consumer and business confidence was now weak across the euro zone, compared to April's peak levels. Figures from purchasing managers also indicated that there was an overall slowing of the serving and manufacturing sectors during May and June.
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