ESRI: Irish economic growth grinds to halt under long quarantine

Irish economic growth will grind to a halt and unemployment will creep above 5% this year under Italy-style quarantines to control the Covid-19 outbreak here, the Economic and Social Research Institute has projected in new forecasts.

ESRI research professor Kieran McQuinn told the Irish Examiner that domestic economic growth, even under a four-week quarantine period, will slow this year, while a quarantine of around eight weeks or beyond will lead to “a very significant” fallout in which Irish GDP falls to zero and unemployment rises.