Our economy has 'fallen off a cliff'...
Ireland's economy has "fallen off a cliff" and is in the grip of the worst recession in its history as new figures reveal it has shrunk by almost 25 per cent from its peak.
A loss of nearly one-quarter of the country's domestic trade in such a short period of time is seen as a catastrophe.
The domestic economy, the day-to-day business of trading, has been decimated and business leaders have called on Finance Minister Brian Lenihan to follow the lead of the British, who put small businesses at the heart of their economic recovery plan.
According to the new figures, since the peak of Ireland's economic wealth creation in the first quarter of 2007, Ireland's economy has reduced by a frightening 24.27 per cent, far higher than previously thought.
While the main political agenda was last week dominated by Taoiseach Brian Cowen's reshuffle, focus will next week return to the state of the country's finances, with Mr Lenihan to announce in the Dail the future of Nama.
Also, as a result of a collapse of all tax revenues since the peak of late 2006 and early 2007, the Irish exchequer has also reached another worrying milestone. The State has posted 25 consecutive monthly exchequer deficits since January 2008.
Since then, Ireland's national debt has doubled to €75bn, and is set to double again to €150bn by 2014. The first quarterly figures for 2010 are to be released next Friday and so far the exchequer is showing a deficit of €2.4bn for this year.
Mr Lenihan's Budget Day comments that the worst is over were based on a reported minor return to growth, driven by multinational profits, but this was an error and in fact the pace of decline actually increased toward the end of last year.
Yesterday Mr Lenihan, through his spokesman, said that he stands over his comments because he said GDP is a far better indicator in terms of economic activity and jobs. GDP has been running higher than expected since Budget Day, he said. In total, the domestic economy fell by 11.3 per cent during 2009, the largest-single decrease in wealth ever recorded.
Labour's finance spokeswoman Joan Burton said that Ireland "has fallen off a cliff" and that behind these stark figures is a world of pain for regular Irish families.
"Records are being set for all the wrong reasons as the Government's scorched-earth Budget and banking policies continue to take their toll on our fragile economy," she said.
Mark Fielding of the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association said the majority of the pain is being felt by small businesses, which have been abandoned by the State.
"There is no economic leadership coming from the Government at all. Look at Alistair Darling doing a huge amount for small businesses, telling Lloyds to give half their money to small companies.
"We need that here but our members are frightened by the uncertainty coming from Government. We need a radical new approach," he said.
To illustrate the true devastation of the recession on the private sector, 127 companies a week, or 12,049 in total, have been forced to close since Mr Cowen became Taoiseach.
Shocking new figures from the Revenue Commissioners also reveal that since 2008, 40,758 individuals have officially ceased trading.
If 127 companies have closed for each of the 97 weeks Mr Cowen has been Taoiseach, it works out as 18 a day.
Fine Gael's finance spokesman Richard Bruton said Ireland is in the grip of its worst-ever recession. "What we are going through is worse than what happened in the 1950s or the 1930s.
"This country needs a new focus and the 'batten down the hatches' tactics of this Government clearly are not working. These figures are simply disastrous."
Labour's Ms Burton added: "The economy may technically return to modest growth this year, but real recovery won't come until we get the country back to work. Any growth this year is likely to be modest and jobless."
DANIEL McCONNELL - Sunday Independent
Ireland's economy has "fallen off a cliff" and is in the grip of the worst recession in its history as new figures reveal it has shrunk by almost 25 per cent from its peak.
A loss of nearly one-quarter of the country's domestic trade in such a short period of time is seen as a catastrophe.
The domestic economy, the day-to-day business of trading, has been decimated and business leaders have called on Finance Minister Brian Lenihan to follow the lead of the British, who put small businesses at the heart of their economic recovery plan.
According to the new figures, since the peak of Ireland's economic wealth creation in the first quarter of 2007, Ireland's economy has reduced by a frightening 24.27 per cent, far higher than previously thought.
While the main political agenda was last week dominated by Taoiseach Brian Cowen's reshuffle, focus will next week return to the state of the country's finances, with Mr Lenihan to announce in the Dail the future of Nama.
Also, as a result of a collapse of all tax revenues since the peak of late 2006 and early 2007, the Irish exchequer has also reached another worrying milestone. The State has posted 25 consecutive monthly exchequer deficits since January 2008.
Since then, Ireland's national debt has doubled to €75bn, and is set to double again to €150bn by 2014. The first quarterly figures for 2010 are to be released next Friday and so far the exchequer is showing a deficit of €2.4bn for this year.
Mr Lenihan's Budget Day comments that the worst is over were based on a reported minor return to growth, driven by multinational profits, but this was an error and in fact the pace of decline actually increased toward the end of last year.
Yesterday Mr Lenihan, through his spokesman, said that he stands over his comments because he said GDP is a far better indicator in terms of economic activity and jobs. GDP has been running higher than expected since Budget Day, he said. In total, the domestic economy fell by 11.3 per cent during 2009, the largest-single decrease in wealth ever recorded.
Labour's finance spokeswoman Joan Burton said that Ireland "has fallen off a cliff" and that behind these stark figures is a world of pain for regular Irish families.
"Records are being set for all the wrong reasons as the Government's scorched-earth Budget and banking policies continue to take their toll on our fragile economy," she said.
Mark Fielding of the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association said the majority of the pain is being felt by small businesses, which have been abandoned by the State.
"There is no economic leadership coming from the Government at all. Look at Alistair Darling doing a huge amount for small businesses, telling Lloyds to give half their money to small companies.
"We need that here but our members are frightened by the uncertainty coming from Government. We need a radical new approach," he said.
To illustrate the true devastation of the recession on the private sector, 127 companies a week, or 12,049 in total, have been forced to close since Mr Cowen became Taoiseach.
Shocking new figures from the Revenue Commissioners also reveal that since 2008, 40,758 individuals have officially ceased trading.
If 127 companies have closed for each of the 97 weeks Mr Cowen has been Taoiseach, it works out as 18 a day.
Fine Gael's finance spokesman Richard Bruton said Ireland is in the grip of its worst-ever recession. "What we are going through is worse than what happened in the 1950s or the 1930s.
"This country needs a new focus and the 'batten down the hatches' tactics of this Government clearly are not working. These figures are simply disastrous."
Labour's Ms Burton added: "The economy may technically return to modest growth this year, but real recovery won't come until we get the country back to work. Any growth this year is likely to be modest and jobless."
DANIEL McCONNELL - Sunday Independent