We are not out of woods yet, fiscal chief warns

There remains a one-in-three chance of Ireland’s debt-to-GDP ratio not stabilising by 2016, a leading economic think-tank has warned.

Addressing Isme’s annual conference, in Dublin yesterday, the head of the Fiscal Advisory Council, Professor John McHale, said that despite Ireland being within weeks of formally exiting its bailout programme, the country is by no means out of the woods.

The troika is confident Ireland’s budget deficit will be reduced to below 3% of GDP by 2015.