Growth Background
Interest rates set by the European Central Bank (ECB) are only guided by low inflation targets in the Eurozone. Some feel this too narrow an objective, leading to decisions on interest rates that are inappropriate, e.g., in a country with record levels of employment, rising house prices and consumer spending. The Irish economy has fallen down the global competitiveness table from fourth to thirtieth in the past three years due to the rising costs of doing business.
The housing bubble is responsible for the employment of approximately 20-30% of the working population. The independently produced Review of the Construction Industry, commissioned by the Department for Environment, estimates that 12% of the workforce are employed directly in the construction industry.
Read more about this topic: Irish Property Bubble
Famous quotes containing the words growth and/or background:
“Although its growth may seem to have been slow, it is to be remembered that it is not a shrub, or plant, to shoot up in the summer and wither in the frosts. The Red Cross is a part of us—it has come to stay—and like the sturdy oak, its spreading branches shall yet encompass and shelter the relief of the nation.”
—Clara Barton (1821–1912)
“They were more than hostile. In the first place, I was a south Georgian and I was looked upon as a fiscal conservative, and the Atlanta newspapers quite erroneously, because they didn’t know anything about me or my background here in Plains, decided that I was also a racial conservative.”
—Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)