The Central Statistics Office said that production from the country's manufacturing industries fell by 2.3% in August from the previous month.
But when viewed on an annual basis, manufacturing production rose by 21.2% in August 2014 compared to August 2013.
Today's CSO figures show that the modern sector, which is made up from a number of high-technology and chemical sectors, showed a monthly increase in production of 2.5%.
The sector was up almost 30% on the year with chemicals and pharmaceuticals recording an annual increase of 37.6%.
Meanwhile, there was a monthly decrease of 0.5% in the traditional sector, but when measured on an annual basis, the sector rose by 5.5% in the year - the fifth annual rise in a row.
Commenting on today's figures, Merrion economist Alan McQuaid said that the improvement in the UK economy and recovery in sterling are clearly a positive development on this front.
"And the good news is that the outlook for the UK economy over the next 12 to 18 months looks quite strong," he added.
The economist said that despite the overall pick-up in output on the indigenous side in recent months, manufacturing growth will for the foreseeable future be primarily driven by industries under the 'modern' or multi-national umbrella.
But he cautioned it is crucial that the economy remains competitive, something which IDA Ireland has recently pointed out, saying any loss of competitiveness would have a negative impact on the levels of foreign direct investment here.
