The Irish government has published its draft Stability Programme Update which includes the Department of Finance’s (DoF) latest forecasts for the Irish economy.
The Government have upgraded their forecast for GDP growth to 4.9% for the year (from 4.4% at budget time) and forecast 3.9% growth in 2017. Achieving this pace of economic expansion would mark the third successive year of very strong growth for the Irish economy.
The report indicates that the central scenario for economic activity in Ireland over the next eighteen months or so is a reasonably benign one, however, they have warned that a more disruptive international economic environment could generate significant headwinds for the Irish economy.
The report highlights the importance of prudent fiscal management and competitiveness-oriented policies that would help the Irish economy to weather any global economic storm that may emerge.
According to the report, "Another year of robust growth is expected this year, with GDP projected to increase by 4.9 per cent, an upward revision of just over half a percentage point relative to the Budget. Domestic demand is projected to make a strong contribution once again, which should yield further dividends in the labour market, where employment growth of 2.6 per cent is expected and where the unemployment rate is likely to fall further to an average of around 8.4 per cent. On the nominal side, a continuation of the recent trend of low consumer price inflation is expected this year, in part due to the drag from lower oil prices."
Source: www.businessworld.ie
