Ireland’s economy is officially in recession

Ireland’s economy is now officially in recession.

GDP fell by just over 6% in April, May and June – the largest quarter on quarter fall ever recorded.

New CSO figures show the construction industry took a hit of 38% – with the transport, hotel and restaurant sector contracting by 30%.

Economist Jim Power says the impact of the Covid 19 lockdown is clear:

“If you look at the indigenous parts of the economy, consumer spending fell back by 19.6%, which is pretty dramatic and we also saw the traditional, indigenous Irish-owned industries under quite a bit of pressure. The domestic economy in the second quarter was hit very very significantly by the shut down imposed by Covid 19.”