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The Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe, welcomed the publication by the International Monetary Fund of its regular review of the Irish economy, the Article IV report.

The Article IV report is a strategic review of the Irish economy and Government policies. The report sets out the views of IMF staff on the current position of the economy and its medium-to-long term prospects, medium-term fiscal policy, as well as financial and banking policy. This year’s report recognises Ireland’s continued strong economic growth, leading to a rapid reduction in unemployment and strengthened public and private balance sheets.

IMF staff note that Ireland’s economy continues to grow at a pace well above the EU average and is approaching full employment. They also noted that banks have continued to improve their resilience to shocks. The report outlines that the outlook is expected to remain favourable, although significant external risks, in particular Brexit and an escalation in global protectionism, will pose challenges.

Commenting on the publication of the report by, Minister Donohoe said:

I welcome today’s publication by the IMF, which affirms the exceptional recovery of the Irish economy. Earlier this week, in my discussions with the IMF Managing Director, Mme Lagarde, I had the opportunity to thank her for the valuable external and expert contribution such reports provide to Government policymaking. These reports leverage the IMFs extensive expertise to provide an insightful and independent commentary on our readiness to meet future challenges.

I am pleased to see that this report concurs with our own assessment of the Irish economy in many areas. Indeed it echoes many of the messages that were articulated in the recently published Summer Economic Statement, in particular our policies to bolster Ireland’s resilience and to rebuild our fiscal buffers in the current climate. In this regard, the report supports the Government’s focus on measures such as maintaining moderate, incremental and sustainable expenditure growth, broadening the tax base, establishing a Rainy Day Fund and safe-guarding against reliance on historically high levels of corporation tax.

As a nation we can be proud of the strength of the economic turnaround that the report acknowledges we have achieved. However, we must be vigilant to ensure we continue to benefit from the strong growth and low unemployment that our hard work is delivering. Crisis legacy issues will continue to be addressed, we will guard against the mistakes of the past and focus on policy choices that best prepare us for the risks to the economy that may present, while delivering enhanced resilience and fostering sustainable growth for all of our people.