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Minister for Finance Michael Noonan Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP/Press Association Images

Government should cut €4 billion in December budget, says ESRI

Forecasts for the growth of the Irish economy were also lowered in the ESRI’s latest report.

THE ECONOMIC AND Social Research Institute (ESRI) has said the government should cut €400 million more than it is planning to do in December’s budget warning that the economy risks further weakening.

In its latest quarterly economic commentary, the economic think tank has said that weakening economies in the US and the UK could further undermine Ireland’s economic recovery as they are two of country’s three major export markets.

Weak growth in the Eurozone, the third major export market, was also highlighted as problematic.

The ESRI called on the Minister for Finance Michael Noonan to impose a budget adjustment of €4 billion, instead of the €3.6 billion combined package of spending cuts and new taxes that the government is required to cut under the EU/IMF bailout package.

In its economic forecasts, the ESRI said that it expected GDP to grow by 1.8 per cent this year and that GNP, which discounts the profits of multinational companies, could grow by 0.2 per cent and 0.7 per cent in 2012.

Net job losses are expected to come in at around 45,000 this year, a big increase on its prediction three months ago when 28,000 fewer people were expected to be working in 2011.

The ESRI also welcomed the deal to reduce the cost of Ireland’s interest repayments on its EU/IMF loan saying that this would help reduce the deficit faster.

Read: Opposition backs call for €4 billion in cuts>

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12 Comments
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    Mute Daniel Hunt
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    Sep 1st 2011, 10:01 AM

    Didn’t they only say just last week that we were doing fantastically well?

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    Mute Ann Illing
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    Sep 1st 2011, 10:13 AM

    Cut the ESRI altogether….that should save a good few bob !!!!!!!!

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    Mute Neil
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    Sep 1st 2011, 11:21 AM

    Yeah, if we get rid of all the people saying we need to close the gap between governent spending and revenue then maybe it’ll all just go away.

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    Mute Tony Stamper
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    Sep 1st 2011, 1:45 PM

    The ESRI do not exactly have a credible record as economic advisors.

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    Mute Collie Woods
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    Sep 1st 2011, 5:50 PM

    Yes if we cut the ERSI from the public purse maybe they might start getting it right in the world of sink or swim.

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    Mute Kathleen O Toole Tighe
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    Sep 1st 2011, 10:11 AM

    Yes daniel they did but that was last week :-)

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    Mute HEADWRECKER
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    Sep 1st 2011, 10:20 AM

    its only an extra 400 million say it fast doesn’t sound much …

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    Mute Louise Ni Riain
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    Sep 1st 2011, 10:41 AM

    Down with that sorta thing

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    Mute damien chaney
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    Sep 1st 2011, 12:36 PM

    Careful now

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    Mute Joseph O Reilly
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    Sep 1st 2011, 1:39 PM

    How can u cut more and more and expect growth ,, it just doesnt make sense

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    Mute Tony Stamper
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    Sep 1st 2011, 1:49 PM

    What do you want us to do, follow the examples of Germany and Holland, who are still performing reasonably well and have low debt.

    FG/FF will never do that, and their excellent track record of only bankrupting the state 4 times in 90 years is proof of that.

    Absolutely nothing is being done at the moment for the domestic economy, indeed August has been the worst month to date for company insolvencies. The SME’s, the domestic economy are dying, but then again they are only with the rest of the little people and are well below the concern of FG/FF. Always have been, always will be.

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    Mute Adam Magari
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    Sep 1st 2011, 1:02 PM

    What kind of salaries are ESRI academics on? Wasn’t it one of the cheerleaders of a ‘soft landing’? More calls for a tow from the Titanic.

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