Oliver Mangan: Sweet spot means we can tackle housing and services constraints

Unemployment is also projected to remain very low at 4.5% over the next three years, and inflation is seen falling back to around 2%

A key issue facing the economy is capacity constraints, most notably the very tight labour market, the acute shortage of housing, and growing pressures on public infrastructure and services. 

Despite the shocks of a sharp rise in inflation, higher interest rates, and a marked slowdown in the global economy, there has been a stream of good news for the Irish economy.  

Data published for the opening quarter of the year show a very strong growth in tax receipts, a sharp jump in new car sales, and unemployment remaining very low, as well as a pick-up in purchasing managers' activity indicators. As anticipated, however, early estimates for first quarter GDP point to a marked slowdown in growth in 2023 from 2022.