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Irish economic outlook depends on Brexit outcome: CBI
From:Xinhua  |  2019-10-12 03:49

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DUBLIN, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) said on Friday that the path ahead for the country's economy in the coming years is linked to the outcome of the ongoing Brexit negotiations.

If a disorderly, no-deal Brexit can be avoided, the country's economy will grow at a relatively solid pace in the coming years with Ireland's GDP forecast to grow at 5 percent in 2019, 4.3 percent in 2020 and 3.9 percent in 2021, said CBI in its fourth Quarterly Bulletin of 2019.

In a no-deal scenario, significant disruption and negative shock to economic activity would adversely affect the country's output and employment and the path ahead for the next few years would be very different, warned the bank.

A no-deal Brexit is forecast to reduce the country's GDP growth to 4.7 percent in 2019, 0.8 percent in 2020 and 1.9 percent in 2021, it said, adding that the reduction in employment growth in the no-deal forecast would imply 73,000 fewer jobs in Ireland by the end-2021 compared to a scenario where there is a deal.

In the event of a no-deal Brexit, the country's unemployment rate is forecast to rise to 5.3 percent in 2019, 5.8 percent in 2020 and 6.9 percent in 2021 as opposed to 5 percent in 2019, 4.8 percent in 2020 and 2021 if a deal can be agreed, it said.

"This is the first time the Central Bank has published two forecasts for the Irish economy, and this is due to the extraordinary and unprecedented nature of the Brexit process," said Mark Cassidy, Director of Economics and Statistics of CBI.

In the event of a no-deal Brexit, regions and sectors in Ireland which are more reliant on trade with Britain and which are more vulnerable to the imposition of tariffs and non-tariff barriers, particularly sectors such as agriculture, food and the broad SME (small and medium-sized enterprises) sector, are likely to be more adversely affected, he said.

Britain is scheduled to leave the European Union (EU) on Oct. 31. With less than three weeks left, there is still no deal agreed between Britain and the EU over the Brexit issue. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly vowed to take Britain out of the EU by the end of October with or without a deal.

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