Growth forecast slashed to 0.5%

Ireland’s economy — in GDP terms — will only grow by around 0.5% this year, according to the Central Bank.

The newest forecast marks the latest in a string of downgraded outlooks the Central Bank has made in the past year. Its last forecast, in October, was for 1.8% growth in 2012.

In its latest quarterly economic bulletin — published yesterday — the Central Bank said that GDP grew by around 0.8% in 2011. It doesn’t expect to see any real growth in the economy until next year, when it anticipates growth of 2.1%.