Has the Irish economy finally stabilised?
Economic indicators released by the Irish authorities today suggest that gross domestic product has finally turned after showing a 0.3% increase in the period between July and September 2009. However gross national product (which strips out the effect of overseas companies on the Irish economy) has fallen by 1.4% over the same period. The actual gap between gross domestic product and gross national product was revealed to be around £7 billion which is the biggest ever on record.
There have been signs that the Irish economy is starting to stabilise after a very difficult and challenging period but the figures released today would indicate that there is still some way to go before the economy has finally turned the corner. However, there is no doubt that, depending upon the economic indicator which you prefer, the rate of contraction in the Irish economy has slowed markedly over the last few months. This in itself is a positive sign for the future although the government is by no means assuming a recovery is just around the corner and will continue with a number of fiscal support policies.
The Irish economy was literally on the brink of collapse only a few months ago after trouble in the financial sector caused a knock-on effect to confidence in the economy.
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