Economy entering new ‘virtuous’ growth phase

Leading Irish economists are considering increasing their growth forecasts later this month, as the recovery enters a new phase that looks more like the early “virtuous” years of the Celtic Tiger before the economy ballooned 12 years ago.

Citing a wide-range of short- and leading-term economic indicators such as government tax receipts, purchasing managers’ surveys for the manufacturing and construction industries, and signals from commercial property advisers showing a large pick-up in demand for industrial spaces around the Dublin region — the forecasters say the economic recovery is entering a new “mature life”.

Economists say, though, they are awaiting the publication by the CSO of GDP figures later this month that they expect to upgrade their growth forecasts soon after then. Austin Hughes, chief economist at KBC Ireland said he will likely increase his outlook from the growth rates of 4.5% this year and the rate of 3.8% he is predicting for 2016, when the CSO publishes its data.