Central Bank warns Brexit risks remain high

The Irish economy is weathering the first waves of the uncertainty caused by the Brexit shock but the outlook will worsen as hard trade barriers emerge from the EU-UK separation talks, the Central Bank has warned.

In its latest quarterly economic bulletin, it says increases in employment and consumer spending have nonetheless helped drive the domestic economy. The unexpected resilience of the UK economy since the vote in June to quit the EU has helped too, by sustaining demand for Irish exporters.

It nudged higher its forecasts for Irish GDP growth to 3.5% this year, and to 3.2% in 2018.