Central Bank sees pace of economic decline easing

The Central Bank has said the pace of the Irish economy's decline is likely to ease in the second half of this year reflecting signs that the downturn in the broader international and European economies may have reached a turning point.

However in its latest quarterly economic bulletin issued today the bank said the weakness in Irish economic activity was likely to persist into 2010, and emergence from the downturn was likely to hinge on the recovery of our main trading partners.