Irish growth to exceed eurozone

The Irish economy will grow at twice the rate of the eurozone economy over the next three years, helped by a recovery in domestic demand and export growth, according the EY Eurozone Forecast.

The consultancy firm expects Irish GDP to increase by 1.9% in 2015 and 2.5% and 2.8% over the two subsequent years. This compares with a GDP growth forecast for the eurozone of 1% next year and 1.6% each year over 2016 and 2017.

Mike McKerr, partner at EY Ireland, said: “Although the overall outlook remains patchy, there is finally some more positive news to report in this forecast, particularly in the peripheral countries in the eurozone.