Brussels, 24/11/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 21 November at the end of their second post recovery programme follow-up mission, the European Commission and the ECB welcomed the economic situation in Ireland and the stronger than forecast growth in the country.
In 2014, Ireland's public deficit was reduced from 5.7% to 3.7% of GDP compared to the level in 2013, which is well below the ceiling initially set at 5.1% and is expected to fall between the 3% threshold in 2015. The two European institutions point out, however, “overruns” in the health sector, compared to spending during the previous year. At a financial level, Ireland has consolidated its access to the sovereign debt market with the issuance of a 15-year bond, the first since 2009. The agreement of European lenders on the early repayment of IMF loans will also generate further savings. Following the European banking sector's bill of health, the restructuring of the major Irish banks, particularly the selling off of the state's share (the state took a share when the sector collapsed in the country) will be able to continue, according to the Commission and the ECB in their joint press release.
Some of the major challenges affecting Ireland's performance include the high “unemployment - particularly long-term and youth unemployment”, as well as the level of private and public debt (this is expected to be brought down from 123.3% to 110.5% of GDP between 2013 and 2014). (MB)