Ireland's economy to grow by 2 pct in 2014
2014-04-07 10:22:13
Ireland's Central Bank said on Saturday it expects the economy to grow by 2 percent in GDP terms this year.
"GDP growth of 2.0 percent is now projected for this year, with growth of 3.2 percent projected for 2015, representing a small downward revision of 0.1 percent to the forecast for this year and no change to the projection for next year," the country's Central Bank said in its latest quarterly bulletin.
The Central Bank said the recovery in economic activity is "continuing."
"The clearest sign of this recovery is provided by labor market data, which indicate that employment has grown strongly over the last five quarters, helping to reduce the unemployment rate to just below 12 percent from a peak of over 15 percent in early 2012," it said.
But it said uncertainty attaches to these forecasts, adding that they remain "sensitive" to developments in the international and European economy.
With respect to the public finances, while figures have yet to be finalised, the latest indications are that the outturn for the general government deficit in 2013 should be slightly below the 7.5 percent of GDP target, according to the latest quarterly bulletin.
In addition, projections indicate that the debt-to-GDP ratio peaked in 2013 and should now start to gradually fall.
"Debt and deficit levels remain very high and further consolidation will be needed in coming years to put debt firmly on a downward path," the Central Bank said.