Ireland plays the eurozone waiting game

Returning from an annual European trade show last month on a flight packed with successful Irish retailers, Ian Martin felt his country’s battered economy might finally be turning around.

A supplier of first aid and hygiene products to Irish companies, Martin has spent the last four years trimming costs, laying off some staff, and cutting the hours of other employees.

The Government has been doing the same, making inroads into an enormous budget deficit and recapitalising a near-collapsed banking system.