Country in stronger position now than in Celtic Tiger crash to avoid austerity, says Taoiseach

Leo Varadkar said the economy was in better shape than after the collapse of the Celtic Tiger.

The Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has expressed hope that Ireland’s looming recession will not result in another era of austerity.

Mr Varadkar said the relatively good state of the economy going into the sharp downturn triggered by coronavirus would help make the recovery less painful than it was following the crash of the Celtic Tiger in 2008.