Alan Nolan, Director General of SIMI, said: "Every county has experienced a strong growth in sales, ranging from Longford with the strongest growth of 47.2%... Wexford is some way behind the trend with the lowest growth rate of just 12.8%.
"Dublin accounts for 37.7% of the national market, with Cork a distant second at 12.5%.
"Employment in the sector is in steady recovery mode with an increase of 4,500 (12%) jobs in 2014, bringing the total to 41,900 employed in the industry.
"Fifty-one percent of SIMI members surveyed have also said that they would be increasing their staffing level during 2015."
