Taoiseach: Nation faces a very tough year

IRELAND faces a grim new year with a serious drop in living standards and rising unemployment, Brian Cowen has warned.

In a gloomy assessment of what to expect in 2009, the Taoiseach said the country was experiencing the fastest economic deterioration in its history.

“Next year is going to be very difficult as well. We are now going to face into a few years where the standard of living will drop. We have a problem. It is a serious problem. Unemployment will go up in the short term, that’s for sure,” he told Gerry Ryan’s RTÉ show.