Off the wire
• Palestine demands end to "Judaizing" Palestinian cities  • German factory orders decline for third consecutive month in September  • Big games on Sunday in Spain's matchday 11  • Traffic police targets occupying highway emergency lanes offenses  • Indian stocks see steep decline  • 1st Ld-Writethru: Ma upbeat over Singapore meeting while "Taiwan independence" supporters face dilemma  • Myanmar opposition leader vows to give priority to national reconciliation work if wins election  • At least 179 Irish left stranded in Egypt due to flight ban  • Hackers cause Cypriot president to temporarily suspend Facebook account  • Stop crime of refugees drowning in Aegean, says Greek PM  
You are here: 　 Home

EC predicts Ireland growth at 6 pct in 2015

Xinhua, November 5, 2015 Adjust font size:

The European Commission (EC), the executive arm of the European Union, on Thursday predicted Ireland's economy would grow by 6 percent this year.

In its latest autumn economic forecast, the EC said Irish real gross domestic product is set to slow down to 4.5 percent in 2016 and 3.5 percent in 2017.

It said Ireland's recovery appears resilient to weaker global growth, adding domestic demand and exports, including from indigenous firms, have rebounded, bringing about record GDP growth.

"As a result, the government deficit continues to decline and the debt-to-GDP ratio is forecast to fall below 100 percent already this year," the EC said.

But it warned private and public debt levels remain high, which could create vulnerabilities to potential shocks or interest rate increases.

The EC said euro area's real GDP is forecast to grow by 1.6 percent in 2015, rising to 1.8 percent in 2016 and 1.9 percent in 2017, the EC said.

For the EU as a whole, real GDP is expected to rise from 1.9 percent this year to 2 percent in 2016 and 2.1 percent in 2017, it said.

Last month, Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan predicted the country's economy would grow by 6.2 percent in 2015 and 4.3 percent in 2016.

He said Ireland is on course to be the fastest growing economy in the euro zone for the second year in a row.

Ireland's economy grew at a rate of 5.2 percent last year. Endit