In Reply to: everybody is going to hell ? posted by Huh on February 18, 2009 at 18:47:33:

Do you have access to some other records that the rest of don't know about.

Ireland faces worst recession on record in 2009

DUBLIN, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Ireland faces its worst recession on record next year with the government forecasting the economy will shrink between 3 and 4 percent as the global downturn depresses consumer demand and exports.

The finance ministry confirmed on Friday the gloomier outlook, which compares with a 0.75 percent contraction in Gross Domestic Product which Finance Minister Brian Lenihan forecast just two months ago.

"We have never seen in Ireland a four percent contraction," said Dermot O'Leary, chief economist with Goodbody Stockbrokers.

Government records on GDP go back to 1949.

Ireland was the first euro zone economy to slide into recession earlier this year, suffering its first downturn in a quarter of a century due to a bursting property bubble at home and the global credit crunch.

Lenihan's outlook for next year is far gloomier than an average forecast of a 2.8 percent contraction in 2009 among economists polled by Reuters late last month.

Analysts, on average, expect the Irish economy to shrink by 1.9 percent this year, a far cry from the late 1990s when the property boom fuelled double digit economic growth and gave rise to the "Celtic Tiger" economy.

Lenihan said he would revise his fiscal and economic assessments on the back of the rapidly deteriorating climate and some economists expect him to introduce a mini-budget that will further cut spending.

The finance ministry spokesman said there were no plans for an interim budget.

The European Commission will commit to an EU-wide economic stimulus package worth about 1.5 percent of total EU output, some 200 billion euros ($264 billion), at a leaders' summit later on Friday.

But in contrast to its European neighbours, Dublin is cutting spending and raising taxes next year. Even with such belt-tightening its budget deficit in 2009 is expected to hit 6.5 percent of GDP -- more than double the EU limit.