Growth points to budget largesse

Economic growth that looks a lot like the big numbers chalked up during the early Tiger years was the headline to emerge from the latest GDP figures released yesterday by the CSO.

But the large growth figures will likely mean the budget measures Finance Minister Michael Noonan is preparing to unveil are likely to be far more substantial than he wants to let on at this stage.

The eye-catching graphic in the CSO release showed that Ireland is again an outlier in Europe but this time for the right reasons.