Official figures show that economic activity continued to fall sharply in the second quarter of this year, compared with the same period last year.
However, the drops were not as big as in the first three months and there were signs of stabilisation, helped by a strong export performance.
The Central Statistics Office said the economy - measured by gross domestic product - shrank at an annual rate of 7.4% in the second quarter.
Gross national product, which excludes profits from multinational companies based in Ireland, dropped by 11.6%. In the first quarter GDP fell by 9.3% and GNP by 13.1%.
The annual figures are compared with Q2 last year, before the worst of the financial crisis took hold.
However, compared with the first three months of this year, the CSO said there was no change in GDP, while GNP fell by only 0.5%.
A breakdown showed that consumer spending in the second quarter was 6.8% lower than a year earlier, while capital investment was down 24.4%.
Industrial production was down 11.3%, with the construction sector showing a drop of 30.8%. But the trade surplus contributed €1.37bn more to the economy compared with a year earlier.
In a statement, Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan said the figures, though still negative, were 'a relative improvement' on the first quarter.
He said they were in line with the Government's April Budget projections for a 7.75% decline in GDP this year.
Mr Lenihan said the rate of decline in our exports was very small compared with many other export-oriented economies.
Levels of trade fell in June
Preliminary figures show that overall levels of trade fell in July compared with June. The CCO said exports fell 8% in the month to just under €6.9bn, while imports dropped slightly to €3.7bn.
The CSO said the imports figure was a new low point for recent years.
Detailed figures for the first six months of this year show that exports were 2% ahead of the same period last year at €44.3bn. Exports to the US rose by 18% compared with the first half of 2008, but the effects of a weak sterling were shown as exports to Britain were down 10%, and there was a 23% fall in exports to Northern Ireland.
Imports for the first half were down 21% to €30.3bn, with imports of vehicles plummeting almost 80% and computer equipment down 40%.
