Category: economy

The European Commission has said that Ireland’s GDP is projected to contract by 8.5% in 2020. The economy here is then expected to grow by 6.25% in 2021, on the back of the pent-up domestic demand release and the global post-crisis recovery.  This compares with the Commission’s earlier forecast of a downturn of 7.9% for […]

The European Commission has said that Ireland’s GDP is projected to contract by 8.5% in 2020. The economy here is then expected to grow by 6.25% in 2021, on the back of the pent-up domestic demand release and the global post-crisis recovery.  In its latest economic outlook, the Commission said that economic activity here is expected […]

Growth in the Irish economy averaged 5.2% per annum from 2013 to 2018, according to an analysis of new CSO data. In a Special Article for the ESRI, Professor John Fitzgerald describes a measure, called Net National Product, as the best picture of the “economic welfare of those living in Ireland”. For years, the traditional measure of […]

The draft Programme for Government includes details of a stimulus plan for the economy to be published in July.  It also outlines the parameters of a National Economic Plan which will be published alongside Budget 2021.   At that time, a “medium term roadmap” will be set out to plan a reduction in the budget […]

Consumer and business sentiment rose slightly in May, albeit from a low base according to the latest Pulse survey from Bank of Ireland. Consumer confidence was up marginally in the month, while all sectors of business saw an improvement. That came as improving data on the number of Covid-19 cases in Ireland continued to improve, […]

Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe has said that there is a possibility that Ireland will run a deficit of €30 billion this year. “We expect public debt to increase significantly this year,” the Minister said. Speaking in the Dáil, Paschal Donohoe said the deficit can be financed at low interest rates at the moment but he said sentiment […]

Ireland’s economy will contract by 8% in 2020 and expand again by 6% in 2021 as the coronavirus pandemic takes its toll, according to the European Commission’s latest economic forecast. The economic uncertainty has been compounded by “specific” Irish factors, such as Brexit and changes in international taxation, the outlook says. Overall, Ireland’s unemployment, deficit and debt levels […]

591,000 people are now receiving the Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment, with around 21,000 receiving it for the first time this week.  That is on top of around 212,000 eligible for standard “non-Covid” Jobseekers benefit of €203 per week, and 337,400 receiving income support through the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme.  The Minister for Employment Affairs and […]

A new report from stockbrokers Davy said that while the outbreak of Covid-19 presents significant challenges, Ireland’s economy should prove to be far more resilient relative to the rest of Europe than it did in the last downturn.  The stockbrokers noted that recent years have been characterised by a lack of credit demand, mainly due to […]

The International Monetary Fund is forecasting that Ireland’s economy will decline by 6.8% in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) terms this year, as a result of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The figure is contained in the IMF’s World Economic Outlook, published today. The IMF believes that unemployment in Ireland will average 12.1% this year and 7.9% in 2021. […]