‘Irish budget deficit may be eliminated in next 3 years’

Ireland’s budget deficit should be eliminated in the next three years, with a surplus of nearly 2% of GDP being generated by 2019, a British economic think-tank has claimed.

The London-based Centre for Economics and Business Research has suggested that economic growth will significantly lag consensus opinion this year, but be better than expected next year.

Its outlook for Ireland’s continued recovery, however, is based on the Government sticking to its austerity plan and not deviating from its planned €2bn adjustment pencilled in for Budget 2015.