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Martin wades into abortion debateAs the Dáil committee hearings continue on the abortion bill, Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has waded into the debate saying it is important that Christian believers "be, and seen to be, on the side of life, especially when life is most vulnerable".
Payment cuts see families pay rent shortfallLimits on rent supplement payments set by the Government are forcing thousands of families to make undeclared top-up payments to landlords to secure places to live.
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Anger as North Korea launches another missileNorth Korea fired a short-range missile from its east coast, a day after launching three more of these missiles, a South Korean news agency said.
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Warnings over future of eurozoneThe eurozone is heading towards a break up unless there are moves towards much closer political and fiscal union, according to chief economist with State Street Global Advisers, Chris Probyn.
Bruton defends corporate tax rateIreland will be able to maintain its current corporation tax code in the face of international pressure to prevent multinational corporations avoid paying their fare share of tax, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton said yesterday.
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Mayo’s statement of intentGalway 0-11 Mayo 4-16 Five minutes to go in Salthill yesterday and James Horan was still cajoling his men to sew it into Galway.
Wilkinson inspires Toulon to gloryASM Clermont Auvergne 15 Toulon 16 Not for the first time this season, a matchday performance and the result have made a mockery of the statistics.
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ESRI: Ireland to use new bailout fund
Ireland is likely to have to tap the eurozone’s new rescue fund once its troika bailout programme runs its course next year.
By Geoff Percival
That is the opinion of economic think-tank, the Economic and Social Research Institute, which has also marginally reduced its growth forecast for the economy. In its latest quarterly economic commentary, published yesterday, the ESRI said that it now expects the Irish economy to grow — in GDP terms — by just 0.6% this year, and by 2.2% in 2013. Previously, the institute had forecast GDP growth of 0.9% for this year and 2.3% next.
Its revised forecast for this year is now below the Government’s official estimate of 0.7%.
It added that unemployment will only marginally improve in 2013, from 14.9% this year to 14.7%.
Long-term unemployment remains a concern, the institute said.
Domestic demand is also set to continue contracting this year, with increases in consumer confidence not necessarily leading to a widespread recovery in consumption, it added.
Speaking yesterday, the ESRI’s associate research professor, Joe Durkan said the Government will probably need to raise extra funds from the new European Stability Mechanism — the successor to the European Financial Stability Facility — although he stressed this should not be interpreted as a second emergency bailout agreement for the country.
However, despite its previous utterances about the Government potentially having to make steeper budgetary adjustments in the coming years; the ESRI said that the 2012 fiscal targets “will be met”, with the targeted budget deficit — of 8.3% of GDP — being hit; before lowering again to 7.5% next year. The institute, however, said that meeting next year’s targets will be “more difficult to achieve”.
Research officer, David Duffy, also said that the sale of state-owned assets may only provide limited benefits to the economy and that while broad fiscal stimulus measures in the eurozone may help Ireland, the Government should not attempt to stimulate domestic growth through public spending.
“In a small open economy such as Ireland, much of the impact goes directly on imports and does not lead to sustained growth. In order to grow, the Irish economy needs competitiveness gains and export growth.”
Mr Duffy said that the ESRI’s latest forecasts are all based on the wider eurozone debt crisis not worsening any further, adding that the financial crisis in the single currency region “still needs to be resolved, convincingly.”