Overheating warnings for Ireland's economy seem to be premature

Warnings about the risks of the Irish economy overheating are becoming more commonplace as the unemployment rate drops below 6% and house prices and mortgage lending continue to rise at strong double-digit rates, writes Oliver Mangan.

Last week, the OECD warned that “some signs of overheating are emerging” in the Irish economy. It expressed concern that the pace of lending growth was “increasing sharply” and warned of the risk of “another property bubble associated with a strong surge in credit growth”.

The Paris-based economic think-tank also warned that as the labour market tightens, “wage pressures will be strong, feeding into higher inflation.”