Ireland Sees Strong Growth

Ireland is set to wave goodbye to the “lost decade” that followed the property crash, as domestic spending returns to its previous peak level this year on the back of strong economic growth and a return to full employment, RTE reported. Goodbody Stockbrokers has raised its forecasts for Irish economic growth for 2017, upgrading its outlook for core domestic demand to 4.5% from 3.7% previously, and to 4.3% for 2018, up from 3.6%, driven by a return to boom time consumer spending levels. Goodbody economist Dermot O’Leary now bases his economic growth figure on domestic demand, a figure which strips out both aircraft investment and R&D. However, he does signal a warning over capacity constraints, “especially in housing and infrastructure, meaning the government will have to prioritize capital spending in the coming years”, chief economist Dermot O’Leary said. “Addressing these capacity constraints will be crucial to maintaining Ireland’s superior growth profile over the medium-term,” O’Leary said.