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THE IRISH ECONOMY is “on the way back”, according to business group IBEC, which says the recovery is not just well under way, but is gaining momentum.
In its new forecast for this year which is published today, IBEC revised upwards its projections for consumer spending, investment in the economy, and GDP growth.
The group had previously predicted that consumer spending will increase by 1.3 per cent this year, but has now revised this to 1.9 per cent, based on a boost in consumer sentiment and good employment news.
On the jobs front, IBEC predicts that unemployment will drop to 10.9 per cent this year, with around 50,000 new jobs to be created. The current unemployment rate is 11.8 per cent.
The group dismissed the poor GDP figures from last year and said that they don’t represent the “true strength of the real economy,” which it said could be seen in “massive” employment growth and the strengthening of the domestic economy.
It blamed the pharma ‘patent cliff’ – the clustering of a large number of patented drugs going off-patent in quick succession – for having a disproportionately bad effect on Irish exports, wiping almost €5 billion off them last year alone.
“The recovery is gaining momentum, with spectacular employment growth in the private sector and strong increases in consumer confidence, business confidence and investment,” said economist Fergal O’Brien of IBEC.
Ireland is on the way back. We are now out-performing many of our European competitors.
He said that the upswing in the economy’s fortunes means Minister for Finance Michael Noonan should consider reducing income tax in the next budget.
He also cited wage pressures and a fragile European recovery as being a concern.
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“Irish economy’s on the way back!”
- IBEC
“No, you can’t have wage increases.”
- IBEC
I hate IBEC
3850 Canadian visa’s snapped up in 30 minutes by Irish people last week.
Yeah, Irelands booming alright.
7700 over two rounds actually
It’s insulting that this kind of propaganda is shoved in our face everyday. Just like the nonsensical employment figures, this is political spin which the media is more than happy to give a voice to
God forbid that it might be true
There is zero proof to show that the economy is getting significantly better
Ok Derpy, you know better than ibec then
Ha, ye because IBEC couldn’t possibly have anything to gain from feeding us lies.
Things are certainly getting better, all problems are not even remotely solved and the debt burden is a critical danger but there are a lot more jobs being created than are being lost, total employment is going up, businesses are picking up more orders.
There is only so long that the depressed here can keep saying it is Jobsbridge or FAS type courses behind everything.
Some people would keep moaning all day long no matter what.
This is the same IBEC who’s soft landing predictions in 2006 were spot on…yeah right.
IBEC are a bunch of Gov lackeys who only do the corporatist spin. They have no clue about macro economics and haven’t a bogs notion about real economics outside the big boy bubble they live in. The recent past has proven that beyond all reasonable doubt.
and remember IBEC NICE / LISBON Vote yes for Jobs.
Do you know what “bolshie” means?
Unreasonable or uncooperative – curious as to why it used here?!
Ben, “Bolshie” is Russian for “Bullsh1t” which is exactly what this vote catching story is all about.
Msrtin, that would make your comment complete ‘bolshie’ – please provide link verifying your ‘fact’
Buckwheat, Here’s the link local elections coming up Tell lies – Get votes.
I was talking about your ‘bolshie’ translation – Russian indeed?!
Buckwheat, of course you were Dearie.
Snappy comeback Derpy!
Bolshie in Russian Большие. It means “big”.
Bolshie, means – €8.65 per hour’ employment! Lots & lots of low paid jobs!
Martin, I didn’t know IBEC were running in the local elections. That’s news to me.
Fine Gael have appointed IBEC’s Majella Fitzpatrick as Director of Communications
Ignoreland, no you thought it was honest political parties who wouldn’t get the “Spindoctors” involved.
I’d bet a fiver the author meant to say “bullish” but she mixed it up with “bolshie”.
Still in denial then?
70 Billions in debt and repayments not kicking in yet!
DELUSIONAL!
Talking down the economy doesn’t talk down the debt.
Public and private debt combined to GNP is well over 400%. Inflation is practically deflation, unemployment is high, emigration is high, our banks are still grossly undercapitalised and our economic fundamentals are not sound.
The Chinese economy is unstable, excessively debt laden, the German Landesbanks are in massive problems and the euro is still in major difficulties. The ECB does not have adequate powers of active intervention and our residential housing market is still totally dysfunctional. I could go on.
It is okay for IBEC to try to talk up the economy and fir the CBI again to predict growth which does not materialise but there is no discretionary income left over to help spending and contribute to the retail sector.
We can’t let ourselves lose touch with reality. Things are as they are; not as we would wish them to be.
And talking it up doesn’t make it disappear!
That’s just denial.
Jarlath……closer to €200 Billion in debt!
Whatever happens to the debt and a writedown is badly needed and the only thing that can solve this.
We still need more jobs, there is no point in pretending that the economy is not improving, especially over the last 6 months. Order books are picking up, people in full time employment is going up etc etc.
What benefit Jarlath in hiding under the bed? Life still goes on and has to be lived.
The thing is, we will never learn. We will still try to patch the broken bucket as it falls apart instead of getting a new bucket which works long term.
Great wage increases on the way.
So why are they opening food banks to feed 600,000????????
Laurel & hardy,
And here I am reading the Journal at home on a Monday because the company I work for went into recievership recently and not one job advert up with my trade to apply for,some recovery underway alright!
Effing garbage
The propaganda is disturbing in all its lies and spin. We are ‘stupidly’ indebted, and will be for decades, and in the process will hand over every valuable state asset for a steal. It is a coup d’etat by the corporations. I don’t understand how willing people are to swallow this hype while we are being stripped of our wealth. The Troika masters know we have a weak and very dirty corrupt little system here and have taken full advantage. All I can say is – NO THANK YOU to FF – Bertie Aherne, Cowen/Lenihan, FG?LAB – Kenny/Noonan/Gilmore, PD”S, Greens – a bad lot who don’t nor didn’t serve the people.
‘Recovery’, RECOVERY – Wake up Ireland!!! This is a monumental con job and we need to recover our senses. So all you apologists who applaud the chronic steps we’ve taken in to slavery and call it a ‘recovery’ should instead rename it a takeover.
I suppose Mr John Gaughan will applaud our Mayo leader, the EU lapdog, who will have some other plum EU job once this nasty traitorous work has been done and the main parties have been hammered in the elections.
More proof that the right decisions were made. Those howling about 2nd bailouts and interim budgets looking pretty foolish now…
Go away O’Reilly. We still owe billions in gambling debts. Any spare cash generated in a so called upturn will head straight to Frankfurt. IBEC are only concerned with pushing up profits for shareholders. Ordinary people will continue to suffer for years to come.
For decades to come.
Rod, what’s any of that got to do with recovery? Despite the billions owed we are in recovery…
Yup paying €8 billion a year in interest some recovery al right. Some people are doing well. Of course if your an Irish citizen who needs specialised medical treatment you can forget having it in Ireland.
Kerry, no one said we were booming. It seems some here will never acknowledge progress…
Things certainly are improving, more jobs, more orders on more companies books, more full time jobs but we certainly are pin to the collar with taxes and state debt.
To be fair, our taxes aren’t overtly different to taxes in other countries. The only problem is our taxes pay off a debt we didn’t incur, and in other countries, taxes provide services.
Ireland should have left the euro!
It then should have devalued and boosted exports thereby creating many jobs in Ireland like Iceland did!
Thus Government will not listen to good Economists!
Sad!
Enda will retire laughing all the way to the bank with a big pension not like the Rest of the Irish Taxpayers who were “screwed” to pay the debts of Bankers, Developers and Builders!
To date not one Banker Developer or Builder has received a Jail sentence!
Something stinks!
A banana Republic without bananas!
Bolshie????
journal, can you re- phrase that heading, please….”Businesses are now operating in a bolshie economy in Ireland”
Due to –
- plc banks’ losses,following banking and property bust, socialised into sovereign debt
- high rates
- high employer prsi
- high electricity charges
- high duties on fuel
I appreciate IBEC have to talk-up the economy, and inspire confidence for business, but until our government put the boot in to ECB and get relief on those gambling debts – created through the incompetence of Banking sector and Central Bank Regulators – this economy will remain in the doldrums.
There’s one born every minute!
Sadly, I see a few have been suckered by this. We need to learn the power of critical thinking, not to take self seer paving nonsense from IBEC at face value.
More like bullshite
No lover of FF but what your saying is the FF were right when they looked at the mess they made and came up with a new plan ,that FG /labour followed through on
They are going to be coming out with more of this shite in the coming weeks, trying to get us to believe what a great job they are doing at bringing ireland back from the dead. Sorry but im not buying any more of this tripe
Good man enda keep up the good work
You forgot to put “Report sponsored by Fine Gael” at the bottom of the article.
From twitter:
“Fine Gael have appointed IBEC’s Majella Fitzpatrick as Director of Communications”
Some people would regard this as spin, I see it as a reason to disbelieve IBEC.
The only thing that’s changed is the media’s perception. We’re being told things are getting better but we’re still in a terrible position owing billions that we can’t afford. All the while people are lapping it up talking about how the property market is recovering etc.
People are sick of the negativity so we’re on a bit of a roll of “good news” stories. Sadly that’s all they are, stories. I’m all for being positive but all the evidence points towards no big improvements in our situation.
To be honest the fact that most people are believing this hype after what we’ve been through really worries me. You can blame the politicians, bankers etc all you like but it’s the Irish people who are again chasing the boom and are happy to believe the bull they’re being fed!
Why would govt want to lower it’s tax income? If anything they wanna increase it. Raising the minimum wage would generate extra income tax but IBEC Is all “no our precious profits”. I really hate IBEC.
Waah wah wah emigration waaah waah banks waahh waah jobbridge waah waaah politicians, waah wah EUSSR.
Did I miss anything?
You forgot bondholders CPM :)
“Patent Cliff”…….which loosely means the Pharma’s are running out of ideas. I think there is a ‘patent cliff’ in FG/Lab.
The Guinness must be good in Bobby Byrnes’s going by the big fat well fed head Of Noonan. As for the other clown enough said.
It would only take a Fine Gael government to fix the mess this country is in. Arise Sir Enda
Get a grip!
It would take an idiot to think Fine Gael are fixing this country!
To be fair Mark, FG are getting results. Granted I agree it is not the best way, but things are changing. I would worry about the property market rising again, as that will totally collapse again, far worse than before.
When’s the usc finished?
In January 2013 they were predicting GDP grow of 1.8% now they ‘dismiss’ the fact that GDP contracted by -.3% in 2013 a full 2.1% off their 2013 projections. Mindless boosterism from IBEC. So, no change, then.
misread “bullish” as “bulls**”
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