Ireland emerges from recession

Official figures have today revealed that Ireland’s economy grew by 0.3% in the third quarter compared with the previous quarter and has therefore exited recession.

The economy has been one of the worst performers in the western world this year but has now emerged from what was one of Europe’s worst recessions.

However, despite the positive growth in the third quarter, economists have warned that the outlook remains weak.

Eoin Fahy, chief economist at KBC Asset Management, comments: “The process is still very volatile. Clearly we shouldn’t overstate. It is a good news that GDP is growing rather than falling, but we still have to remain cautious because of the volatility.”

On an annual basis, Ireland’s GDP fell 7.4% in the quarter, just below Dublin’s forecast of a 7.5% contraction for the full 2009 year.

In related news, Ireland has experienced a property boom since the late 1990s, with multinationals arriving to take advantage of one of the lowest corporate tax rates in the euro zone.

However, the ailing housing market has had a major impact on the former “Celtic Tiger” economy and property prices have plummeted since their high in 2006.

In April, the country’s Government unveiled an emergency budget after admitting that the country’s budget deficit was spiralling out of control.

The country’s woes have led Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman, to say that the Irish economy will take almost five years to recover.

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