Nice of the Central Bank to catch up with what IMF and other International commentators have been saying about the expected level of growth in the country.Even Enda might revise downward the figure he has been insisting on.

Yeah. The 0.5% was what the troika forecast last month when they were over here checking the books. What is even more scary is the CB claiming that next year there will be growth of 2.1%. Where did they pluck that figure from?

When you change your forecast, you’re no longer forecasting, you’re just guessing. The Muppets in the Central Bank and the Department of Finance aren’t kidding anyone.

Aargh…the economy is shrinking. Let’s tax it more!

Makes me laugh really … It’s not recession it a long drawn out depression..

” sovereign debt crisis” shouldn’t he have said “banking to sovereign debt crisis”

A shrinking economy means one thing…more austerity. Be warned.

They said the same back in 2010. Theyre not forecasting. Theyre hoping. The real figure is GNP. It has shown a big negative trend for quite a while. I can’t see where they are getting 1% GNP for 2013 when it is likely that more cuts are on the way and more people leaving the country.
It’s only a matter of time before a default has to be negotiated on the bank debt. Yet the gap in the public finances is still huge and has to be closed by ourselves. However can it be closed by soley relying on exports. I doubt it. There has to be some incentive for the national economy to grow.

Noonan and the powers that be are involved in a war of words….

Stop the press!!!!!!….. Sure the dog on the street knew that lol.
And this 2.1% growth figure was just plucked from the air.
We will all hear lies upon lies til the review it down again next year, meanwhile taxes and austerity are the only things that will truely rise.

The real winners in all of this are the primitive, indigenous tribes of the World who never had the misfortune to get caught up in the rat race, that is modern day Capitalism.

Not so much forecasting as guessing… I am no economist and I could have told anyone 2.1% is fanciful.

The only route to growth is to increase exports and develop import substitutes both of which require us to be more competitive. So what are our government doing? Destroying our ability to compete by increasing the costs of public transport, fuel and power, medical services, education, legal services, business rates, pension provision, motor tax, etc. etc.

That’s the problem when you put all your eggs in one basket,Were relying only on one thing to make our economy grow, Exports.We have to be looking at domestic growth that will give domestic job’s and supporting towns and city’s across Ireland.
We have no control on our exports and while the whole of Europe and the USA are only starting Austerity measures our Exports will begin to drop then Growth will drop meaning less tax and more austerity.More Austerity means less domestic spending and less job’s and more reliance on MNC’s and exports just a cycle of bad economic’s.
The government bemoans about how the country rely on the property market back in the boom times,Our government is doing the same thing with exports and MNC’s.

Lies, damned lies and statistics….

Reason to leave Ireland just keep mounting up so fast

That’s exactly what they will do Hugh…if we can’t grow our way to the targets set by the troika, they’ll beat it out if us in tax…the 2013 budget will be worse than last Decembers…its going to be 2013 before we see any real signs of us emerging from this almighty economic shit storm!