Clare’s Minister of State says Irish consumers should not be pessimistic about the economy and is confident a trade deal will soon be struck with the US.
It’s after the Government published two economic forecasts yesterday, one, shows Ireland’s Gross Domestic Product impacted by Trumps tariffs, while the other predicts relative plain sailing for the year ahead.
Gross Domestic Product measures the total value of goods and services produced within a country in a specified period of time and is a strong indicator of economic growth.
The Department of Finance prepared two forecasts for next year, one of them suggests no tariffs, under this model, Ireland’s GDP would increase by roughly 4%.
But in the scenario of a blanket 10% tariff on all goods, it’s anticipated economic growth would be down roughly one percentage point, which would be equivalent to around 25,000 fewer jobs.
Ennis economist and Assistant Professor of Social Policy at UCD, Micheál Collins doesen’t expect Trump’s tariffs to be as severe as first feared, but says the economy will be affected until there’s clarity.
Clare’s Minister of State meanwhile believes there are positives in the report such as the guarantee of economic growth and believes the Government can counter a jobs creation shortfall through a rainy day fund.
Fianna Fáil’s Timmy Dooley is also adamant a trade deal will be struck with the US.
You can listen to the full interview below.
