Ireland may see 2012 growth

Ireland is the only peripheral economy in the eurozone expected to see growth this year, and it could see consumer spending grow in 2013 for the first time since 2007, a Reuters poll showed yesterday.

Nine economists surveyed by Reuters expect GDP growth of 0.7%, a sharp drop from the 1.5% forecast in the previous poll in December.

Ireland’s official creditors at the EU, the IMF and the ECB expect GDP growth of 0.5% this year, a far cry from the near 2% expected when Ireland accepted a bailout in November 2010.