State still bullish about prospects

THE Government remains bullish about the economic prospects for the rest of the year, despite fears that high oil prices could pose a serious threat to growth.

The Department of Finance had been expected to lower growth forecasts in its Economic Review and Outlook, published yesterday.

In fact, the department left its GDP growth prediction unchanged, at 5.1%, and forecast GNP growth of 5%, up from the 4.7% envisaged at Budget time. In euro terms, this amounts to €159.4 billion in GDP and €135.1 billion in GNP.