Activity in the Republic's industrial sector slowed slightly in the final quarter of last year, early estimates from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) showed yesterday.

The seasonally-adjusted figures point to a 1.2 per cent decrease in production levels in the three months ending in December. The data is based on early returns from industrial firms. Unadjusted monthly figures meanwhile point to a considerable annual decline in production in December, recording a 6.6 per cent drop in industrial activity.

The growth number, if maintained in final data for December due to be released later this month, will have followed seven months of strong expansion in the sector.

On a seasonally-adjusted basis, the figures show that production levels fell by 5.2 per cent between November and December.

Mr Robbie Kelleher, head of research with Davy Stockbrokers, said "on the face of it", the numbers suggested a significant weakening in industrial output over the second half. He noted, however, that this trend did not sit well with volume data indicating "very impressive" industrial growth.

Mr Kelleher claims the overall industrial production series is "so polluted by the transfer pricing policies" of multinational pharmaceutical that it fails to provide any useful signal on the Republic's industrial sector.He believes that when the pharmaceutical sector is excluded, the figures show that levels of industrial output were broadly unchanged last year.