Irish think tank expects local economy to remain strong

Ireland's economic growth is expected to remain strong in 2016, with its gross domestic product (GDP) forecast to grow by nearly 4.6 percent in 2016 and 4.2 percent in 2017, according to a local think tank on Tuesday.

In its quarterly economic commentary, the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) said Ireland's gross national product (GNP) is set to grow by 4.8 percent in 2016 and by 4.3 percent in 2017.

"We still expect the Irish economy to register very significant growth in 2016 and 2017, particularly when compared with other European economies," said Kieran McQuinn, one of the authors of the report.

"However, there are some indications that the slowdown in global trade, coupled with the uncertainty surrounding the outcome of the Brexit referendum in the UK, is having an adverse impact on the traded sector of the Irish economy. These are the main downside risks to the Irish economy at present," he said.

Meanwhile, David Duffy, another author of the report, said domestic sources of growth, investment and consumption are the main determinants of the increase expected in Irish economic activity.

"While the upward trend in commercial construction is likely to continue in 2016 and 2017, there is as of yet no real indication that housing supply is growing much faster than the 2015 figure," Duffy said.

Ireland's GDP growth for 2015 as a whole was 7.8 percent in real terms, up from 5.2 percent in the previous year, according to figures from the Central Statistics Office.

According to economists here, this pace of growth was the fastest in Ireland since 2000, and it also made the country the fastest growing economy in the Europe Union for the second successive year. Enditem