Finance Minister warns of weaker growth than forecast

Finance Minister Michael Noonan said today there are indications that economic growth this year will be weaker than the Government had expected.

He said that Budget predictions of 1.3% growth in 2012 were in line with the consensus at the time, but the indications now are that growth will be weaker.

"Since then, however, the indications are that growth will be a bit weaker, and most analysts have been revising downwards their forecasts over the past few months," he said.

However, he said there are signs that "tender shoots of growth" are beginning to emerge in the Irish property market.

He told the Oireachtas Finance Committee that changes made to stamp duty are beginning to stimulate the market.

Reasonably good houses, three- and four-bedroom family homes in Dublin in good adresses, there's competitivve bidding for them now.

If a good family homes comes on the market, the day it's up for viewing, 20, 30 couples could look at it, and it's beginning to move.

Now it's very tender shoots of growth at the moment, but you have to take the economy sector by sector.