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Economic growth this year will be only half as fast as in 2007, the Central Bank forecasts in its quarterly bulletin, yesterday. The bank projects that the pace of economic growth will decelerate from 5.1 per cent in 2007 to 2.6 per cent this year. Yet, despite the forecast economic slowdown, the Central Bank's assessment of the State's economic prospects is not without an element of optimism.

The bank points out that the economy registered a strong performance in 2007, with the growth rate exceeding 5 per cent. In particular, exports surpassed all expectations, with the volume of goods and services sold abroad increasing by 6.9 per cent. As a result, the bank estimates that Ireland increased its share of world trade in 2007 for the first time in many years.