Growth in the country's services sector strengthened in December, returning to near the level it had reached before the UK voted to leave the European Union, a survey showed today.
Given the close trading links between the two countries, Ireland is widely considered the EU economy most at risk from Britain's decision to leave.
Growth slowed in both services and manufacturing after the British referendum in June.
After the reading for manufacturing activity rose to its highest level in 17 months earlier this week, the Investec Services Purchasing Managers' Index improved to a five-month high of 59.1 in December from 56 in November.
That kept the index well above the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction.
It had fallen to a three and a half year low of 54.6 in October from a near-perfect three year run above the 60 mark before the referendum.
It was also ahead of the euro zone average of 54.4 in December, which was the fastest increase in activity in five and a half years, as a weaker currency boosted demand for goods and services across the 19 euro states.
The sub-index measuring new export orders among Irish firms, which contracted for the first time since 2011 in November, rose to 54.1 from 49.8, a recovery some respondents put down to new business from Britain.
"The rate of growth in activity across much of Ireland's private sector picked up in late 2016 after the 'soft patch' endured in the wake of the UK's vote for Brexit," Investec Ireland chief economist Philip O'Sullivan said, referring to both PMI surveys.
"While political developments have the potential to put a dent in the pace of growth once again this year, we draw comfort from the fact that the Irish manufacturing and services sectors proved sufficiently resilient to continue expanding in spite of all the challenges that the past year produced," he added.
CSO figures also point to strengthening services sector
Meanwhile, latest official figures from the Central Statistics Office also show the services sector here is strengthening.
The seasonally adjusted monthly services value index increased by 2.6% between October and November, while in the year to November there was an 8.9% rise.
The largest monthly increases in activity were in the areas of Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities (+4.1%), Information and Communication (+3.0%), Wholesale and Retail Trade (+3.0%), Accommodation and Food Service Activities (+2.7%), and Administrative and Support Service Activities (+2.6%).
Other Service Activities (-4.2%) recorded a decrease during the month.
