The modern sector of the economy, including pharmaceutical, chemical and technology firms, was the main driver of industrial activity in the year to November, according to data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
Industrial production and turnover figures from the CSO show an increase of 2.7 per cent increase in industrial production over the 12 months to the end of November.
Within this, the modern sector showed a year-on-year rise in production for November of 3.9 per cent, while an annual decrease of 0.7 per cent was reported in the traditional sector.
According to Alan McQuaid, chief economist with Bloxham Stockbrokers, the decline of the indigenous sector on an annual basis every month last year "tells its own story".
He said during the three months to November the pharmaceuticals sector had posted an annual increase of 15.9 per cent in industrial production.
"By contrast, on the indigenous side, the food products and beverages sector was down 3.1 per cent in the year in the September-November period, underlining the fact that the modern sector continues to be the main driver of industrial activity."
In the context of the job cuts announced by Dell in Limerick Mr McQuaid said more needed to be done to improve Ireland's competitiveness, adding that to assume because the country has a low corporate tax regime "we will continue to attract foreign direct investment is extremely mis-guided".