Irish Examiner View: Economic hit

THE Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has confirmed that Ireland faces an economic double-whammy from Covid-19 and Brexit.

In its latest economic outlook, the organisation said that GDP here will fall by 6.8% in 2020 and then recover by 4.8% in 2021. There could even be a third whammy because the OECD estimates that if a second wave of contagion hits this year, the Irish economy could contract by 8.7% with almost no recovery in 2021.

It also said that an increase in barriers to trade between the UK and the European Union as a result of Brexit is also a major risk facing the country as the UK remains one of our key trading partners.

Despite these fears, the OECD is confident on a strong economic recovery here next year. That may be overly optimistic as a survey by Chambers Ireland reveals that companies that reopened under the first phase of the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions are experiencing less than half their usual level of business activity for this time of the year.