ECB to keep rates very low for a couple of years

Official national accounts data published by the CSO show that the economy had a very strong first half to the year. The underlying growth rate of the domestic economy is put at over 6% for the period, with strong rises in consumer spending, business investment and construction output.

Meanwhile, employment rose by over 3%, year-on-year, in the first half of 2018. Data from a range of indicators are now becoming available for the third quarter of the year and show continuing robust growth by the economy.