Sign up to The Irish Times Archive (1859 - 2008)My Account »

ANALYSIS:IRELAND IS experiencing a horrendous recession. There has been a sharp decline in employment and output since 2007. Unemployment has grown rapidly, while many opt to exit the labour force or emigrate. Accordingly, decisions about economic policy have rarely been as important, writes PHILIP LANE

While progress needs to be made on many fronts, the two main policy challenges are to set the Irish economy on a sustainable growth path while stabilising the public finances.