Tag Archives: Irish Economy

How insufferable?

Oh, about two-thirds.

Ireland’s economy will grow at about a third of the pace forecast by the government, the country’s bailout partners said, as export growth slows.

Gross domestic product will expand 0.5 percent this year, representatives of the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the European Commission said today in Dublin. The troika in October forecast 1 percent growth, below the government’s 1.3 percent prediction.

“Ireland continues to face considerable challenges,” they said in a statement confirming the government had met its bailout targets in the fourth quarter. “Domestic demand remains subdued, unemployment high and trading partner growth is slowing.”

Irish Economy To Miss Government Growth Forecast, Troika Say (Bloomberg)

(Laura Hutton/Photocall ireland)

 

 

 

 Ireland has passed the fifth review of progress under its bailout program by the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank, the Department of Finance said in a statement Thursday.

Unable to borrow in the international bond markets, the Irish government was forced to seek EUR67.5 billion in loans from the European Union and the IMF in November 2010.

 

Now GET back to work/job-hunt/sofa/trolley/journey-to-airport/pub, etc.

Irish Government: Ireland Has Passed Fifth Review By EU/IMF/ECB Troika (Nasdaq)

The Government is facing a new threat to its corporate tax regime as Germany and France push for the acceleration of moves to create a pan-European business tax system.

The two powers [Germany and France] say in a private submission to European Council president Herman Van Rompuy that urgent measures are required to secure economic growth.

In a paper seen by The Irish Times , they highlight “tax co-ordination” as being among the policies required to bring this about. These include a quickening of moves to create a common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB), an initiative once dismissed by Taoiseach Enda Kenny as tax harmonisation by the “back door”.

The CCCTB would not harmonise tax rates but it would create a pan-European tax system for firms operating in more than one country.

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Pressure Mounts On Ireland Over Corporation Tax Rate (Arthur Beesley, Irish Times)

The recently-departed ESRI (The Economic and Social Research Institute)
hipster economist Richard Tol writes:

Among our reasons to leave are the economic prospects of Ireland, and particularly of families like ours with a triple exposure to public finances: two salaries and kids in education. I called that “10 more years of austerity”, where “10 years” really stands for “a long period”. This was apparently news to some. Although really not my area, the facts are simple. The programme for government and the deal with the Troika have that the primary deficit will be reduced to zero by 2014-5. Public debt will reach 125-135% of GDP by then, pension reserves will be depleted, and valuable state assets will have been sold. That means that, after 2015, a large share of tax revenue will go towards interest payments, debt reduction, and rebuilding of reserves – rather than to things that make life worthwhile. If debt is to be reduced to 60% GDP, then 10 more years of austerity seems fairly optimistic. I do expect, however, that the ECB will monetize part of the debt.

I also said a number of things about the ESRI. I enjoyed working there, and hope to pass to my students the things I’ve learned while there. However, I also think the ESRI should work harder on transparency and quality management. ESRI data and models should be in the public domain.

There has been no independent investigation of the accusations of racism against some ESRI staff. Indeed, ESRI management has repeatedly denied the possibility that there could be any truth in such allegations.

The ESRI is not as independent as it should be. The ESRI does not have a budget to pursue issues that no one in government wants to hear about.

Tol Goes Bye Bye (Irish Economy)