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FactCheck: No, the reported side effects of the HPV vaccine do NOT outweigh the proven benefits

Following controversy over Super Junior Minister Finian McGrath’s comments about the vaccine, TheJournal.ie republishes this Factcheck.

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This article was first published on 11 September 2016, but on foot of this week’s debate about the HPV vaccine, we are republishing. We have re-checked and, if necessary, updated all figures to ensure its accuracy. 

AS THE SCHOOL year begins, tens of thousands of girls in the first year of secondary school will be offered the HPV vaccine in Ireland.

But a campaign called Regret has come to prominence, questioning the safety of the vaccine, and claiming it caused illness in 400 Irish teenage girls and young women after they took it.

Jacqui Madden in Co Roscommon and Deirdre Lally in Co Wicklow asked us to look into their claims, and assess the safety of the HPV vaccine, so we did.

(Remember, if you see a social media campaign you’re not sure about, email factcheck@thejournal.ie or tweet @TJ_FactCheck).

Claim: The side effects of the HPV vaccine outweigh the benefits
Verdict: FALSE (by a very wide margin)

  • Repeated studies and clinical trials have shown HPV vaccines like Gardasil to be very effective in preventing the virus which leads to most cervical cancers
  • Repeated studies and clinical trials have shown HPV vaccines to be very safe, and potential allergic reactions and possible side effects to be extremely rare
  • What little scientific research has been done contradicting this overwhelming consensus, has consistently been shown to be flawed and unreliable
  • There is no evidence to show that the illnesses highlighted by the group Regret were caused by the HPV vaccine

THE FACTS

HPV Vaccine Associated Press Associated Press

The Basics

HPV stands for Human Papillomavirus, which is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections, with almost all men and women contracting it at some point in their lives.

According to the HSE, 80% of women contract HPV, usually in their late teens or 20s.

In most cases, the virus clears on its own and does not have any symptoms, but in some cases, it can lead to genital warts. In women, HPV can cause changes in the cervix (the lower part of the uterus, or womb) which can lead to cervical cancer.

The HPV vaccine used in the school programme is called Gardasil, and protects against four out of 170 types of the virus: numbers 6, 11, 16, 18.

However, 16 and 18 alone are responsible for 70% of cervical cancers, as well as 75-80% of anal cancers, according to the manufacturer’s package leaflet and the Health Protection Surveillance Centre.

This fact wasn’t taken into account in the misleading claim made by Regret:

The HPV vaccine will not save any lives on its own merit, as it only protects against 4 strains out of more than 100 HPV infections.

The fact is that two of those four strains account for 70% of cervical cancers, and an immunisation against them therefore necessarily prevents some cervical cancer development, and therefore saves lives.

The rate of cervical cancer among women in Ireland is one in 115 (0.87%), according to the latest figures (for 2016).

In Irish schools, the HSE began administering a programme of HPV vaccination for free in May 2010, in schools and in clinics, to girls in first year of secondary school, and later began a “catch-up” programme for sixth years.

This previously involved three injections separated by six months each, but since the 2014/2015 academic year, has been decreased to two injections, six months apart.

Parents and guardians are given this HSE information booklet, and asked to sign a consent form before the vaccine can be administered.

In the 2014/2015 academic year, 55,121 vaccine doses were administered. In 2015/2016, 48,682 vaccine doses were given.

Gardasil is manufactured by Merck and was authorised by the Irish Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) in September 2006, after being licensed by the European Medicines Agency.

The other HPV vaccine licensed in Ireland is Cervarix, which is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline. Both are “prophylactic” medicines, which means they prevent HPV for a number of years after being administered, but do not cure it in existing cases.

Effectiveness of the HPV vaccine

There is an exceptionally large volume of scientific research on the efficacy of HPV vaccines, which include Gardasil.

A good place to start is this World Health Organisation (WHO) review of studies, which reported the vaccines had an efficacy rate of between 90% and 100% in preventing HPV infection.

A 2011 meta-analysis evaluated the results of seven separate randomised control tests, and found – for various groups of women over various time periods – the efficacy rate of the vaccines was 96%, 90%, 53%, 84%, 94%, 95%, 85%, 76%.

A 2014 meta-analysis evaluated the results of 15 previous scientific studies – 10 randomised control tests and five observational studies.

It found the effectiveness of the vaccines in preventing HPV 16 and 18 (the two most serious strains) ranged from 83% to 94%.

Another 2014 meta-analysis, on the long-term effectiveness of Gardasil, found that in one study of more than 1,000 vaccinated boys and girls aged 9-15, there wasn’t a single HPV infection up to nine years later.

And in another study where women aged 16-23 were vaccinated, there wasn’t a single HPV infection five and nine years later.

Finally, the original clinical trials which were the basis for Gardasil being licensed, found the vaccine was effective in 88.7% of cases (page 12/13, here).

Safety of the HPV vaccine

Cancer Vaccine Project Associated Press Associated Press

Ireland

From 2010/2011 to 2014/2015, some 590,694 doses have been administered to first and sixth-year female secondary school students in Ireland, according to FactCheck’s analysis of data collected by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC).

The total number of girls who took the full set of Gardasil doses available was 201,410.

Between 2010 and 2015, a total of 948 “adverse reactions” to Gardasil were reported to the HPRA.

Adverse reactions are, essentially, negative symptoms perceived to be side effects from a drug. According to a parliamentary question response by then Health Minister Leo Varadkar, in January:

The vast majority of reports received have been consistent with the expected pattern of adverse effects associated with use of Gardasil, as described in the product information.

These include reactions associated with the administering of the vaccine itself (an injection) like fainting, dizziness, headaches, skin rashes, but also include:

Chronic fatigue, nausea, swollen joints, gastrointestinal problems, drowsiness, menstrual disorders.

958 reports of negative reactions (of varying degrees of severity) out of 590,694 doses constitutes 0.16%.

If we plot those figures on a chart, the number of adverse reports is actually invisible compared to the scale of the doses administered.

hpv

And it’s important to note that these are simply reports of adverse reactions – they do not, by any means, constitute proof that the administering of the vaccine was the cause of the symptom.

Furthermore, some of the 108 adverse reports in 2015 would have related to the 2015/2016 vaccination programme, which is not included in the number of doses.

Europe

In November 2015, the European Medicines Agency published the results of a major review of the safety of HPV vaccines including Gardasil and Cervarix, examining an alleged link to two conditions.

They were: complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), a chronic pain syndrome which affects limbs; and POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome), which involves rapid heart rate increases on sitting or standing up, along with fatigue, dizziness and other symptoms.

The largescale EMA review concluded that there was no causal relationship between the HPV vaccines and the two conditions, and that, essentially, the prevalence of those two conditions was no greater among those treated with the vaccines, than among the general population.

It recommended no change to the licensing terms or product information requirements of Gardasil and Cervarix.

Package information

The manufacturer’s leaflet, which is reviewed by the HPRA, states the following possible side effects of Gardasil:

  • Very common (more than 10% of patients) – Pain, swelling, redness at the injection site, headaches
  • Common (more than 1%) – Bruising, itchiness at the injection site, fever and nausea
  • Rare (less than 0.1%) – Hives
  • Very rare (less than 0.01%) – Wheezing, difficulty breathing

Scientific research

HPV Vaccine Boys Associated Press Associated Press

Once again, very many scientific studies and reviews have been conducted on this, and have found HPV vaccines like Gardasil to be extremely safe.

One of the 2014 meta-analyses mentioned above evaluated a 2013 study of almost one million 10-17 year-old girls in Denmark and Sweden.

It found no difference between vaccinated and unvaccinated girls in the rate of what have been claimed to be serious adverse effects – various autoimmune and neurological conditions, as well as venous thromboembolism (VTE), which includes deep vein thrombosis.

Another study from 2014 analysed 42 completed or ongoing clinical trials of Cervarix and found that the rates of symptoms were almost identical between vaccinated and control groups.

In fact, the rates of “medically significant conditions” and “serious adverse events” were slightly lower among the vaccinated groups, not that any particular conclusion should be drawn from that.

This summary of nine separate studies involves research into possible associations between HPV vaccines and a wide range of conditions and symptoms, including serious ones like stroke, appendicitis, and Guillain-Barré syndrome, an immune disorder that causes weakness and even paralysis, and has been claimed to be caused by HPV vaccination.

In almost all cases, the research found no difference between vaccinated and control groups in the prevalence of the conditions, with the exception of temporary problems like fainting and skin irritation.

In one case, a lower “odds ratio” (essentially a lower risk) of multiple sclerosis was observed among the vaccinated group.

In the case of Guillain-Barré syndrome, the rate of reported cases was 0.2 per 100,000 doses of Gardasil. That’s one in half a million, or 0.0002%. And that rate was no higher than is typical of other vaccines.

Yet another 2011 systematic review of existing research concluded that the prevalence of serious adverse events was not different between vaccinated and control groups.

And finally, another 2011 systematic review found the same results.

Regret’s evidence

Cancer Vaccine Associated Press Associated Press

FactCheck asked the group Regret to provide evidence to support the contention that the HPV vaccine caused the health problems suffered by the 400 young women it represents, and that the HPV vaccine is not safe.

A spokesperson for the group confirmed it was their view that “on balance, the risks of taking the HPV vaccine outweigh the benefits”.

On the question of a cause-and-effect relationship, the group told us:

We question the safety of the vaccine, but without the appropriate independent investigative tools, we cannot establish the causation link [sic].

They did not provide any evidence showing that Gardasil caused the health problems observed among the girls in question.

On the wider question of the safety of Gardasil in general, Regret directed us to articles reporting decreasing uptake of the vaccine in various jurisdictions, and criticism of it, but only one scientific study.

The fact that uptake of the vaccine is decreasing in a small number of countries, or that its safety has been questioned, does not, of course, constitute evidence that it is not safe.

And in reality, the Canadian study highlighted by Regret does not give any support to their contention – quite the opposite. Its authors even expressly stated that the rate of side effects following HPV vaccination was “low”.

The research, published in April 2016, tracked the rate of AEFI (adverse events following immunisation), as well as hospitalisation and emergency department admissions within 42 days of vaccination, among women and girls aged nine and older in the Canadian province of Alberta, between 2006 and 2014.

In 99.2% of cases, the HPV vaccine administered was Gardasil.

The study found:

  • Out of 528,913 doses of a HPV vaccine, 198 adverse events (side effects) were reported. That’s 0.04%
  • Out of 195,270 girls and women vaccinated, 192 reported adverse events. That’s 0.1%
  • Of those 192, four reported an adverse event serious enough to warrant hospitalisation within 42 days
  • Therefore, four out of 195,270 vaccinated individuals experienced a serious side effect following vaccination. That’s 0.002%
  • Of the 198 adverse events reported, the outcome was known for 171. All 171 ended in full recovery
  • Of the 195,270 patients vaccinated, 958 (0.49%) visited the hospital within 42 days – 35.3% within two weeks, and 64.7% after two weeks
  • Only four of these had reported a side effect from the vaccination
  • Of the 195,270 patients vaccinated, 19,351 visited the emergency department (ED) within 42 days. That’s 9.9%

Regret presented the fact that almost 10% of those vaccinated visited the ED within 42 days as evidence supporting the risks of the HPV vaccine.

But this ignores the fact that only 0.002% of those vaccinated reported a serious side effect (one warranting a trip to the hospital).

In other words, those hospital and emergency department visits were not linked to the vaccination, not even in the minds of the women and girls themselves.

Screen Shot 2016-09-11 at 4.05.55 PM

The “Research” page of the group’s website contains mostly op-ed articles, speeches or interviews criticising the vaccines, but among the more substantive items listed are:

  • An article which claims clinical trials of Gardasil and Gardasil 9 showed a rate of serious side effects of 2.5% and 2.3%.

On even cursory examination, this is very misleading. In reality, between one month and four years after vaccination, only four out of 15,705 individuals had a side effect that was determined to be vaccine-related. That’s 0.03%.

Once again, vaccinated people getting sick in the normal course of events (including up to four years after vaccination) is falsely being presented as caused by vaccination.

  • A Danish study which described a pattern of “autonomic dysfunction” (problems with breathing, heartrate and digestion) among 53 vaccinated patients.

It noted that it could not confirm or dismiss a causal link with the vaccine, but called for further research. However, the consistency of the symptoms observed is surely due to the fact that:

This was a retrospective analysis based on 75 patients consecutively referred to the Syncope [Fainting] Unit from May 2011 to December 2014 for a head-up tilt test due to 
orthostatic intolerance and symptoms compatible with autonomic dysfunction as suspected side effect following vaccination with the Q-HPV vaccine.

In other words, the study found a strong pattern of autonomic dysfunction among a few dozen patients who were referred to a specialised unit, with symptoms of autonomic dysfunction. Which is hardly shocking.

  • A 2012 study which concluded that certain HPV vaccines “pose an inherent risk for triggering potentially fatal autoimmune vasculopathies [blood vessel disease]“.

That alarming conclusion was based on autopsy analysis and tissue samples taken from the brains of two young women (19 and 14), who had died six months and two weeks after HPV vaccination.

The study was so alarming that the US government’s Centers for Disease Control (CDC) established a working group to examine it. In a public response, they found several serious flaws:

  • The authors’ diagnosis of cerebral vasculitis (blood vessel inflammation in the brain) was invalid
  • The way they tested for the presence of vaccine-related proteins lacked proper controls and was “questionable”
  • The authors did not use the right equipment to properly identify vaccine particles, and did not use control samples, so the relevance of what they did find “cannot be determined”
  • They did not present enough information to be able to examine possible alternative causes of death.

And for the record, out of the many millions of HPV vaccine doses administered in the US over the years, the CDC working group found one report of cerebral vasculitis (the disease the article claims is caused by the vaccine), 45 days after a vaccination.

And that was in a woman who already had immune system difficulties and several medical problems to begin with.

In the medical literature, they found two cases of vasculitis after vaccination (neither of them in the brain, which is the focus of this study), and both of them attributed to a blood vessel disorder called Henoch-Schonlein Purpura.

Conclusion

  • A very large number of clinical trials and scientific studies, some outlined above, have proven HPV vaccines, including Gardasil, to be highly effective in preventing the virus that causes 70% of cervical cancer
  • These trials and studies have also proven HPV vaccines, including Gardasil, to be very safe, with extremely low rates of serious possible side effects
  • What little scientific research has been done contradicting this overwhelming consensus, has consistently been shown to be flawed and unreliable
  • There is no evidence whatsoever that HPV vaccination caused the health difficulties observed among the 400 young women represented by the group Regret

The claim that “On balance, the risks of taking the HPV vaccine outweigh the benefits” is FALSE by a very wide margin. In fact, the evidence is unequivocal.

Send your FactCheck requests to factcheck@thejournal.ie

Update: This article has been updated to include the fact that the cervical cancer rate among women in Ireland is one in 115, according to the latest figures (2016).

Correction: This article has been amended with the correct spelling of the HPV vaccine Cervarix. We previously wrongly referred to it as “Cervatrix”.

This article was originally published on 11 September 2016

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260 Comments
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    Mute mickmc
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    Apr 3rd 2017, 8:03 AM

    What’s the betting we soon have a labour shortage in this country again. Of course we still have the 5-10% of the labour force who are quiet happy to sit back and live off the rest of us.

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    Mute Dub_Right
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    Apr 3rd 2017, 8:27 AM

    @mickmc: I think they are referring to the lack of qualified staff with the right knowledge, skills and experience needed to operate a high tech business or manufacturing operation.
    Ireland needs to sort out it’s severe housing and transport issues in order to ensure people who emigrate to Ireland have somewhere to live.
    As well as reducing the tax burden on highly skilled staff who may command salaries internationally of €100k++

    As for your 5 to 10% who are “Happy to sit back” just stop the chimp comment and realise that the figure you have chosen could contain those in training, out of work due to illness or pregnancy, those made redundant and seeking employment. Or who due to age for example find obtaining work extremely challenging..

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    Apr 3rd 2017, 8:30 AM

    @Dub_Right: excuse excuses excuses.

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    Mute Deborah Behan
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    Apr 3rd 2017, 8:39 AM

    @mickmc: you’re never going to get 100% employment. Ever.

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    Mute mickmc
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    Apr 3rd 2017, 9:13 AM

    @Deborah Behan: well if there was less incentives to stay on it we probably could get to 98-99%.

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    Mute CeannairBlue
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    Apr 3rd 2017, 10:02 AM

    @Deborah Behan: True – due to the reason stated.

    The “we will work only when there are jobs paying what we believe we are worth”.

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    Mute Chris Kirk
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    Apr 3rd 2017, 10:07 AM

    @Dub_Right: Not sure what these ‘knowledge skills’ you refer to are. Surely there are plenty of jobs which require common sense skills and energy to perform and learn rather than having to produce a piece of paper from a third level institution.

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    Mute Bossman Ben
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    Apr 3rd 2017, 12:37 PM

    @mickmc: you’re a typical keyboard warrior and probably a cynical dick on top ..

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    Mute Bobby Phelan
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    Apr 3rd 2017, 3:47 PM

    @Dub_Right: don’t expect ff fg to sort any thing out there the ones that created this mess along with their buddies liebour

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    Mute Connolly Association
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    Apr 3rd 2017, 8:11 AM

    Does anyone know if IBEC have ever been right before…about anything?

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    Mute Chucky Arlaw
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    Apr 3rd 2017, 8:42 AM

    @Connolly Association: they’re right more regularly than all those groups with Connolly in their names

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    Mute Barney Dooley
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    Apr 3rd 2017, 10:57 AM

    @Connolly Association:
    Concepts of right and wrong are irrelevant to Ibec. They will always support the interests of the minority capitalist class and oppose the working class. In the same way the esteemed consultants E&Y quoted were “wrong” when they needed to be about Anglo’s accounts and missed the €7 billion (that’s a 7 and 9 zeroes ) in loans flying between Irish Life & Permanent and the bank just a few weeks before Anglo reported it’s accounts.

    http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/ernst-young-may-face-disciplinary-hearing-over-anglo-irish-bank-34933762.html

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    Mute Colin Moran
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    Apr 3rd 2017, 11:07 AM

    @Barney Dooley: You really are a toothache looking for a tooth Wally. If it rained liquid gold you’d complain about getting wet.

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    Mute Robert Woodward
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    Apr 3rd 2017, 11:20 AM

    @Colin Moran: Improvements in the economy are trouble for Wally and his politics. The hard left need unemployment and recession to increase their support, the trouble is when the economy improves that small increase of support (and we are talking just 4 to 5 % here) they have got over the last few years will fall away.They will move from being irrelevant to completely irrelevant.

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    Mute Barney Dooley
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    Apr 3rd 2017, 12:55 PM

    @Robert Woodward:

    Our future is secure then as late stage parasitic capitalism drives more and more of the population into poverty to continue to enrich the oligarchy:

    “George Magnus, a senior economic analyst at UBS bank, wrote an article with the intriguing title: “Give Karl Marx a Chance to Save the World Economy”. Switzerland-based UBS is a pillar of the financial establishment, with offices in more than 50 countries and over $2 trillion in assets. Yet in an essay for Bloomberg View, Magnus wrote that “today’s global economy bears some uncanny resemblances to what Marx foresaw.”
    In his article he starts by describing policy makers “struggling to understand the barrage of financial panics, protests and other ills afflicting the world” and suggests that they would do well to study the works of “a long-dead economist, Karl Marx.”
    “Consider, for example, Marx’s prediction of how the inherent conflict between capital and labor would manifest itself. As he wrote in Das Kapital, companies’ pursuit of profits and productivity would naturally lead them to need fewer and fewer workers, creating an ‘industrial reserve army’ of the poor and unemployed: ‘Accumulation of wealth at one pole is, therefore, at the same time accumulation of misery’.”
    He continues:
    “The process he [Marx] describes is visible throughout the developed world, particularly in the U.S. Companies’ efforts to cut costs and avoid hiring have boosted U.S. corporate profits as a share of total economic output to the highest level in more than six decades, while the unemployment rate stands at 9.1 percent and real wages are stagnant.
    “U.S. income inequality, meanwhile, is by some measures close to its highest level since the 1920s. Before 2008, the income disparity was obscured by factors such as easy credit, which allowed poor households to enjoy a more affluent lifestyle. Now the problem is coming home to roost.”

    http://www.marxist.com/karl-marx-130-years.htm

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    Mute Colin Moran
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    Apr 3rd 2017, 1:03 PM

    @Barney Dooley:ah Wally, you’re poor little brain must get in an awful tizzy when you have to constantly rummage through your files to cite someone who said something about something. The rest of us just live our lives like normal, knowing that the world is not, nor will ever be, perfect but that capitalism is here to stay no matter how much you click your diamond slippers and wish it away.

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    Mute Colin Moran
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    Apr 3rd 2017, 1:15 PM

    @Barney Dooley: Oh Wally, by the way, is that the same George Magnus that said on 21st March in Prospect magazine:

    “The US, though, is the single most important part of the world’s economic jigsaw. As I commented here recently, the Federal Reserve’s decision two weeks ago to raise interest rates for the third time since the financial crisis is being taken as a sign of confidence. After an extraordinarily long inventory rundown, lasting five quarters, the US economy is perkier, growing by 3.5 per cent and 1.9 per cent, respectively, in the last two quarters of 2016. The early indications for the start of 2017 are mixed, but employment growth has been firm, there has been some gentle rise in wages and labour force participation, and we have yet to see any impact from the Trump Administration’s spending and tax policies. Even if financial markets are exaggerating the growth boost from his tax and infrastructure policies, there should be some positive impact on growth in 2017, and a slightly bigger one in 2018.

    What could go wrong? Unfortunately, quite a lot. Political risk looms large over the current expansion. The Dutch may have dodged a bullet in last week’s elections, but there are more battles to fight against resurgent populism and the restrictive, protectionist economic policies that populists embrace. Politics aside, though, economic expansions can’t be milked forever. Imbalances emerge over time, and someone’s balance sheet—whether it belongs to the government, companies, banks or households, deteriorates to the point where it threatens and then undermines the business cycle.”

    So he’s positive about the global markets, employment, anti-restriction, anti-protectionist and anti-populist as well as his comments about the government balance sheet making total shite out of your nonsense about governments never having to be in debt etc.
    hmmmmmmm.

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    Mute Barney Dooley
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    Apr 3rd 2017, 3:54 PM

    @Colin Moran:

    “you’re poor little brain must get in an awful tizzy when you have to constantly rummage through your files to cite someone who said something about something.”

    Says my loyal little stalker as he rummages around to cite someone who said something about something :)

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    Mute Barney Dooley
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    Apr 3rd 2017, 3:57 PM

    @Colin Moran:
    P.S He’s a macroeconomic illiterate much like yourself who he believes the issuer of the dollar can run out of dollars. That’s why he’s looking to Marx to explain how the capitalist economy operates. You should do the same instead of trotting around after me like an obedient hound :)

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    Mute Colin Moran
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    Apr 3rd 2017, 5:32 PM

    @Barney Dooley: So when you cite external references from the Internet it’s valid but when anyone else does it’s not?
    Very Trumpian of you there Conor.

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    Mute Colin Moran
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    Apr 3rd 2017, 5:34 PM

    @Barney Dooley: a ‘macroeconomic illiterate’?
    I can see why you quoted him to substantiate your point! HahahAAA!!!
    You’re a complete clown Conor and what you call stalking I call ‘making Wally and the AAA look like idiots’.
    It’s fun! And easy.

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    Mute O'Reilly
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    Apr 3rd 2017, 8:23 AM

    Jobs. There will be outrage here…

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    Mute Science of beer
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    Apr 3rd 2017, 8:31 AM

    Brilliant. Now all we need to do is sort out the tax system so we can attract the best to the country.

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    Mute Deborah Behan
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    Apr 3rd 2017, 8:40 AM

    @Science of beer: and accommodation.

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    Mute cortisola
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    Apr 3rd 2017, 12:34 PM

    @Deborah Behan: and transport

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    Mute Adrian
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    Apr 3rd 2017, 12:43 PM

    And that’s not noonan, or coveney, or ross, or harris, or kenny, or leo, or martin.

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    Mute Chris Kirk
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    Apr 3rd 2017, 9:59 AM

    While the job forecasts are welcome, there is still a shortage of affordable housing to rent around our cities. People will be more cautious this time about buying houses unless they are sure that employment is sustainable

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    Mute cortisola
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    Apr 3rd 2017, 12:38 PM

    @Chris Kirk: Housing and rents will only go worse with that according to my experience. Thou as prosperity cant stay too long we will face overall collapse in few years and everything will go back to normal.

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    Mute Fred Jensen
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    Apr 3rd 2017, 8:48 AM

    If anything these forecasts are too pessimistic, the construction sector alone is going to expand at least 15% this year given the huge backlog of projects about to start.

    The media likes to make out that we are entirely dependent on world events, but the truth is we have a domestic economy with it’s own momentum which should carry us through the next few years, even if exports are flat.

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    Mute Paul Fahey
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    Apr 3rd 2017, 9:14 AM

    @Fred Jensen: and this construction growth, are they only building commercial property for domestic Irish companies? Are they only building residential properties for the Irish born population? The answer to both if course is no. As a nation we are almost entirely dependent on foreign investment, our politicians have built our economy around it and to suggest otherwise is utterly deluded.

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    Mute Robert Woodward
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    Apr 3rd 2017, 10:39 AM

    Recovery deniers will be along soon to call this a fake news story and to tell us that “nobody they know has got a job or pay increase”

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    Mute YouHaveGotToBeJoking
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    Apr 3rd 2017, 10:35 AM

    I am waiting for the flood of multinationals to come over after BREXIT with their highly skilled workforce and add further damnation to the housing situation. Granted, a percentage of these companies will employee people from the Island although it is a gaurentee that many existing employees will follow – the already crippled housing situation with fall asunder.

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    Mute Fred Jensen
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    Apr 3rd 2017, 10:00 AM

    Between 2002 and 2007 (the so-called Celtic tiger), our exports were largely falt or increased only marginally. All of that growth was domestic construction and consumer spending led.

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    Mute Paul Fahey
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    Apr 3rd 2017, 10:07 AM

    @Fred Jensen: and yet you are supporting and celebrating growth in construction in your comment above. Only an idiot would not learn the lessons of the past.

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    Mute Chris Kirk
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    Apr 3rd 2017, 10:20 AM

    @Fred Jensen: You are right, but look where the celtic tiger led us, Ireland became greedy and uncompetitive. Some so called builders and trades people charging ridiculous prices for shoddy workmanship for houses sold from a plan. I hate to think that people would be that foolish again and we could end up back to that era. But if fianna fail get back into government you never know what will follow. I wish that someone would prioritise the country’s public transport network.

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    Mute Adrian
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    Apr 3rd 2017, 12:40 PM

    I read in the paper yesterday that we are going to lose kobs as irish companies move to Britain!

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    Mute Robert Woodward
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    Apr 3rd 2017, 12:49 PM

    @Adrian: And along comes captain miserable Adrian.

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    Mute Fiona Fitzgerald
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    Apr 3rd 2017, 5:17 PM

    Britain probably needs people who can spell.

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    Mute Marcus Tullius Cicero
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    Apr 3rd 2017, 8:34 PM

    Jobs… OK. Tax cuts….OK. Borrowing….not OK. In a nutshell. Debt still there….

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