EUROZONE WARNING: Now fears for IRELAND’S economy as shock figures show nation on brink
IRELAND’S economy is loaded with more debt and MUCH smaller than previously thought, shock figures reveal.
By LANA CLEMENTS
Express.co.uk
Wed, Jul 19, 2017
Fears for the nation’s finances have jumped after official statistics showed the country has around a quarter more debt than earlier estimates.
The eurozone state was found to have a debt level of around 106 per cent, compared to 75 per cent, as part of a new economic measure that strips the profits of US companies based in Ireland – known as modified gross national income (GNI*).
Ireland’s economy is also worth €190billion (£168bn) last year – a third smaller than the €275bn (£243bn) value reported by the more traditional Gross Domestic Product (GDP) economy measure.
Furthermore, the GNI* measure showed that Ireland is actually not exporting more than it imports – and is in a deficit.
Calls for a different measure on the economy came after it was reported that Ireland’s GDP expanded by a whopping 26 per cent in 2015.
It was the highest rate of growth in the world seen from a develop country and dubbed “leprechaun economics”.
But US companies with operations in Ireland, such as Google and Microsoft, are thought to have distorted the figures.
The giant firms have profits included in GDP measure – but not GNI*.
The Rest…HERE
