DUBLIN, April 17 (Xinhua) -- The Irish economy will continue to grow for the next four years despite some uncertainties lying ahead, said Irish Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe here on Tuesday.
Addressing a press conference for the launch of a government report predicting the country's economy for the period 2018-2021, the minister said that the short-term outlook for the Irish economy is positive and the level of employment in the country will rise above its pre-crisis peak.
According to the report, entitled Stability Programme Update 2018, the Irish economy will grow at a rate of 5.6 percent for 2018, 4 percent for 2019, 3.4 percent for 2020 and 2.8 percent for 2021, showing a clear descending sign in growth speed in the coming four years.
Correspondingly, both the employment growth rate and the jobless rate of the country for the next four years show a generally descending trajectory on a yearly basis,revealed the report.
The country's employment growth rates predicted for 2018-2021 stand at 2.7 percent, 2.3 percent, 1.9 percent and 1.7 percent respectively while the jobless rates for the period stand at 5.8 percent, 5.3 percent, 5.3 percent and 5.4 percent respectively.
Employment is set to return to pre-crisis peak this year, said the report, adding that for every 10 jobs lost during the crisis, nine have now been replaced.
The Irish government's fiscal situation will also improve along with the continuous growth of the country's economy predicted for the next four years.
According to the report, the Irist government will continue to suffer a fiscal deficit of 0.2 percent of GDP for 2018 and 0.1 percent of GDP for 2019, but the government will enjoy a fiscal surplus of 0.3 percent of GDP and 0.4 percent of GDP for 2020 and 2021 respectively.
Despite the "hard-won gains"that the Irish economy has achieved over the last few years, the finance minister warned of potential risks for the future growth of the country's economy.
"Geopolitical factors that have the potential to negatively impact growth; disruption to world trade and the effect that could have on the global economy; policy uncertainty in the US and, of course, Brexit, all have the potential to damage future economic conditions," he said.
"It is imperative, therefore, that we continue to prudently manage the economy and the public finances in an increasingly uncertain world,"he added.
The government's "Stability Programme Update 2018" report is subject to the approval of the Irish parliament before it will be submitted to the European Commission and the European Council by the end of this month.
