What do dramatic recent developments mean for Irish economic prospects?

• Recent GDP data emphasise scale of Multinational activities but don’t alter picture of robust growth
• Underlying growth rate around 6% in 2015 as economy set on strong trajectory of late
• Brexit a negative for Irish economic prospects but exact impact will remain unclear for some time
• Weaker Sterling and increased uncertainty likely to restrain activity and income growth
• Importantly, Brexit effects come at a time when Irish economic momentum is strong
• Irish GDP growth likely to be around 4% in 2016 and 3% in 2017  
• Public finances on positive course but drop in Debt/GDP to 79% exaggerates scale of improvement
• Irish economy capable of sustaining average annual growth close to 4% in medium term

Any consideration of the outlook for the Irish economy needs to begin by discussing the possible implications of two important recent developments. The first of these is the recent publication of statistics showing Irish GDP increased by a staggering 26.3% in 2015, while the second relates to the prospective impact on the Irish economy of the UK referendum vote to leave the EU. Consequently, this note examines these two issues in some detail before considering trends in the public finances and the longer term outlook for the Irish economy.

Economy much larger in a statistical sense but underlying conditions haven’t altered

New official statistics released in mid-July present revised estimates of Irish economic growth which show an astonishing upward revision to GDP growth for 2015 from a provisional figure of 7.8% to an extraordinary 26.3%. It should be emphasised that this revision is statistical in the sense that previous estimates of jobs growth of 2.6% and an increase in tax revenues of 10.5% in 2015 remain unaltered. So, these numbers don’t fundamentally alter the economic reality experienced by most Irish businesses and households during 2015. Nor do they materially change the resources available to Irish society although they have some implications for fiscal metrics.

These revisions should be seen primarily as a step change in that the measured size of Irish economic activity increased dramatically in 2015, but the rate at which it grows in the future is unlikely to be permanently boosted. However, the measured growth rate could become even more volatile than in the past. The recent dramatic revisions primarily reflect reclassifications and relocations of the activities of a handful of multinational companies that are very large by Irish standards. Consequently, this materially alters the size of Irish economic activity as measured by standard International National Accounting practices although the underlying impacts on activity and employment are likely to be comparatively small.

The causes of the revisions are not entirely clear-cut. For reasons of confidentiality in relation to companies providing details of their activities in Ireland to the Central Statistics Office, public information on the precise reasons for the sharp upward revision to Ireland’s capital stock is quite limited. It is believed that the relocation of a number of companies in sectors such as aircraft leasing and medical devices played some role, but the notably more important element appears to be a reclassification/relocation of items on one or two companies’ Irish balance sheet as capital assets. This in turn translated into the inclusion of such items as part of Ireland’s capital stock.

These alterations materially increase the recorded size of the 'balance sheet' of the Irish economy.  The new official estimates show the productive capital stock of the Irish economy increased from about €700 billion in 2014 to around €1050 billion in 2015—an enormous change in view of the fact that the capital stock usually changes incrementally to reflect the gap between Gross Capital Formation and Depreciation, which came to just €7 billion in 2014. In the wake of these new estimates, Ireland’s capital stock increased from about 325% of Irish GDP in 2014 to around 410% of GDP in 2015. The annual output associated with this much higher capital stock was scaled up sharply for 2015, resulting in the 26.3% rise in GDP reported in mid-July.

While a much larger capital stock suggests scope for persistently larger Irish economic output in the future, it doesn’t necessarily imply a persistently faster pace of growth. Indeed, an important consequence of the markedly larger capital stock is the prospect that potentially significant fluctuations in the provision for depreciation could lead to the possibility of markedly greater volatility in National Accounts data in the future as the scale and nature of companies and activities such as those incorporated in the new 2015 GDP data won’t necessarily mirror the contours of the remainder of the Irish economy. In this context, diagram 1 below highlights the sharp divergence between annual growth in 2015 as measured by changes in Ireland’s Gross Domestic Product and Net National Product (NNP). Both indicators show a broadly similar trend for the past twenty years putting into stark contrast how exceptional the 2015 growth estimates are. Incidentally, the 6.5% increase in NNP in 2015 is consistent with the broad swathe of other indicators in emphasising that the underlying pace of increase in Irish economic activity remains extremely robust.


While we think there could be a marginally negative impact on 2016 growth numbers from last year’s outsized increase, it is also quite possible that there could be further developments of a similar nature that would act in the opposite direction- possibly in a substantive manner. Our forecasts for the Irish economy reflect a view that the 2015 outturn was exceptional in nature and won’t have any consistent impact on prospective growth rates for future years. An alternative way of looking at the forecast numbers presented at the end of this note is to suggest that they are intended to relate to underlying trends in the Irish economy and abstract from the particular distortions that influenced the 2015 outturn.   

Irish economic growth to be somewhat slower in the wake of Brexit

While the latest revisions to Irish GDP data largely alter the statistical picture rather than the underlying economic reality, the outlook for the Irish economy has been materially affected by the recent UK vote to leave the EU. ‘Brexit’ can be expected to have a significant negative effect on the Irish economic outlook. However, the precise nature, extent and timeframe in which this impact is felt remains unclear at this time. As the UK’s departure from the EU is an unprecedented event, all estimates of its likely scale of impact on the Irish economy have to be seen as broadly indicative in nature. Our best guess is that a reasonably orderly exit process from the EU by the UK could subtract about 2% cumulatively from Irish GDP growth over a period of two to three years. 

While Brexit is not a ‘big bang’ event and, as such, seems unlikely to threaten a sudden stop in Irish economic activity, some significant effects on the Irish economy are likely to be seen through the second half of 2016, with a further impact felt before the end of 2017.

Our expectations in regard to Brexit’s potential impact on the Irish economy primarily reflect the speedy and substantial weakening of Sterling because of the UK referendum vote and the implications of this reaction for Irish exports. The average Euro/GBP exchange rate for the second half of 2015 was 0.72. For the first half of 2016, this rate increased to 0.78 and if rates remain at current levels a figure of just under 0.84 is in prospect for the second half of this year. This entails a marked deterioration in Irish competitiveness.

 Our forecasts also take into consideration the nature and extent of economic and cultural ties between the two countries that makes the UK decision closer to  a ‘domestic’ rather than a foreign development. The associated domestic focus on Brexit within Ireland means its repercussions are likely to feed through to sentiment and business decision-making reasonably quickly. In this regard, diagram 2 below hints at links between Sterling’s fortunes on FX markets and the performance of the Irish jobs market. This is a key consideration in our downward revisions of the outlook for Irish GDP growth.  


We expect the primary impact of Brexit on Irish economic growth prospects to be seen in a slower pace of export growth.  Exports to the UK amount to some 20% of Irish GDP. Reflecting both the direct effect from Brexit on Irish exports to the UK, a smaller impact from some spill-over weakness in other European markets and the reported weakness of exports in early 2016, we expect a sharp slowdown in the pace of export growth.  We also think that Brexit-related uncertainty will weigh on Irish investment. However, strong underlying momentum in areas such as construction should significantly cushion the Brexit blow.

While we envisage a significant adverse impact in the next year or two, we don’t expect a sea-change in Irish economic conditions as a result of the Brexit vote. For this reason, we don’t anticipate any dramatic alteration of the conditions facing the average Irish consumer in the near term.  Indeed, at the margin, cheaper UK imports will boost household purchasing power. However, in time Brexit will have some adverse impact on Ireland’s public finances and expectations of reduced scope for favourable fiscal measures that together with an element of increased caution on the part of consumers will weigh on household spending. Against this, the latest GDP data show consumer spending picking up more sharply of late than previously estimated. So, we expect robust increases in consumer spending to continue through this year with only a modest slowing envisaged for 2017 and 2018.

The overall impact on the Irish economy of the prospective departure of the UK from the EU will be clearly negative but, within wide-ranging effects, there should be a number of positive consequences in specific areas. As there is likely some redirection of Foreign Direct Investment from the UK into other EU countries, Ireland is well positioned to attract some element of activity related to companies looking to retain a presence in the EU. The scale and timing of such investment flows is extremely uncertain and will be significantly influenced by the precise nature of the relationship that the UK forges with the EU after its departure. For this reason, we have made the possibly strong assumption that there will be no material boost to Irish economic activity in the next two to three years from any Brexit relocations into this country.

We previously envisaged a growth rate of about 5% for 2015, but the UK vote together with soft Q1 data and the possibility of some slight correction of last year’s outsized growth figure have prompted us to revise down our forecast of GDP growth for this year to 4%. We have also pared back our GDP forecast for 2017 to around 3% from 3.7% previously and reduced our forecast for 2018 by 0.5% to 2.8% on Brexit effects. The somewhat slower pace of growth envisaged through the remainder of 2016 has led us to revise our forecast for jobs growth to 2% in both 2016 and 2017 (previously 2.6%). As a result, we have amended our unemployment estimates to an average jobless rate of 7.8% for this year from 7.5% previously and to 7.2% for 2017 from 6.7% previously.  Alongside these impacts, we now see Irish inflation at 0.0% (previously 0.2%) and 0.5% for 2017 (previously 1.3%).

While we must emphasise the degree of uncertainty in the current environment, we think these projections adequately capture the nature and extent of downside risks to Irish economic growth which have crystallised in the wake of the UK referendum vote. Our sense is that these new estimates encompass a substantial adverse impact from Brexit that could be slower to materialise or may be less pronounced than these forecasts envisage. In this context, our estimates of the cumulative hit to Irish GDP over the three year period 2016-2018 entail a larger impact than envisaged by the IMF which estimated an impact on Irish GDP ranging from 0.7% to 1.8%.

In assessing the outlook for the Irish economy in coming years, it is also important that we consider the adverse impact of ‘Brexit’ in the context of the exceptional momentum of the Irish economy over the past couple of years. Our current GDP forecast for 2016 is still likely to be sufficiently strong to make Ireland the fastest growing economy in the EU for the third year running while our estimates for 2017 and 2018 would still be about twice the average pace of growth likely in the EU over this period. 

Furthermore, as a counterpoint to Brexit, there are some risks in the opposite direction that domestic economic activity could move onto a stronger trajectory than we currently envisage. For example, it is widely estimated that the current pace of homebuilding in Ireland is between 13k and 17k short of the number of units necessary to balance demand and supply. Our projections envisage a modest step-up in housing output in the next couple of years. If there were to be significant changes in the regulatory, planning or funding environment that facilitated an expansion in supply amounting to an additional 15k homes, that would be sufficient to boost Irish GDP by 1.5%. The new housing plan announced by the Irish Government in late July is unlikely to have an immediate impact of this magnitude but does represent a source of material upside risks to our forecasts (perhaps of the order of 0.2 -0.5% for 2017 and 2018).

Improving trend in Ireland’s Public Finances remains on track

The turnaround in Ireland’s public finances looks set to continue and a deficit of less than 1% of GDP, which seems attainable this year, represents further significant progress towards a balanced budget. The projected improvement compared to the 2015 deficit of 1.8% of GDP is flattered by the statistical treatment of a share conversion that boosted the 2015 outturn by €1700 million (0.8% of GDP).  The Irish Government converted preference shares in AIB into ordinary shares in AIB and this was deemed to be (deficit boosting) capital spending rather than, as had been generally expected, a (deficit neutral) financial transaction.

The drop in the underlying deficit from 3.8% of GDP in 2014 to 1% of GDP in 2015 primarily reflects buoyant exchequer tax receipts (+10.5%) which were €3.3 billion or 1.5% of GDP above target. This provided leeway for a supplementary increase in public spending of about €1.5 billion in 2015 as well as delivering a below target outturn for the end year deficit. Exchequer debt servicing costs were €7.1 billion, roughly €500 million lower than in 2014 reflecting the early repayment of IMF loans and their replacement with lower cost market funding.

Exchequer returns data for the first six months of 2016 show a continuing trend improvement in Ireland’s public finances consistent with strong positive momentum in economic activity through the first half of the year. The overall trend in tax revenues remains very strong but we envisage some easing in the pace of growth through the balance of the year.  Corporation tax receipts remain the most notable source of buoyancy in taxes and, encouragingly, the increased level of multinational activities revealed by the recent revision to GDP data suggest a likelihood that this trend will continue. With half-year returns indicating that public spending remains on a sustainable trajectory, we expect this year’s budget target of a deficit of just below 1% of GDP can be met or slightly bettered.

The sustained improvement in Ireland’s fiscal position has allowed the stance of government policy to change from implementing severe austerity measures to imparting a modest stimulus to activity. The associated step-up in public spending and easing in taxation should spread the upturn more broadly on both a geographic and sectoral basis. While we expect some pull-back in the extent of concessions possible in the upcoming budgets, the manner in which the concept of ‘fiscal space’ means this may not influence the parameters around Budget 2017.  As a result, the upcoming Budget is likely to include adjustments that add about 0.3% to GDP in 2017.

Although recent revisions to GDP data don’t directly impinge on the economic circumstances of the average Irish firm or consumer, they have potentially important implications for Budget policy. By altering the measured size of the Irish economy, they influence important fiscal ratios such as debt/GDP, reducing end-2015 outturn below 79% of GDP from the previously estimated 94% of GDP. Their impact on the deficit/GDP ratio is more modest, cutting the 2015 General Government Balance to 1.8% of GDP from 2.3% previously. However, larger Irish GDP also suggests the prospect of an increased Irish contribution to the EU budget that could run to €300-400 million in coming years although this impact is more than offset by increased tax revenues associated with the higher GDP number. 

More importantly, the scale of recent revisions to Irish GDP figures mean technical considerations such as Ireland’s potential growth rate, the associated output gap and, more importantly from a practical and political perspective, measures such as the structural budget balance and fiscal space are rendered virtually meaningless (even if there were always major problems with the mechanical nature of such calculations for an economy of the structure of Ireland).

One important consequence of market confidence in the sustained improvement in the Irish public finances and, more importantly, the Government bond purchasing programme of the ECB is a further narrowing in Irish Government bond spreads over Germany even in the aftermath of the UK referendum result.

Longer term economic outlook remains encouraging

The medium term outlook for the Irish economy has been clouded somewhat by recent dramatic developments in relation to growth statistics for 2015 and the prospective departure of the UK from the EU. As discussed above, these influences suggest the prospect of increased volatility in Irish economic conditions but in both instances, even assessments that likely err on the side of caution suggest the Irish economy can continue to sustain a notably robust pace of economic growth that is likely to be markedly stronger than that envisaged for most other European economies. If we ignore the 2015 data and focus instead on the preceding 20 years, a period encompassing both boom and bust, the annual average increase in GDP was 4.6%, the same rate as the 40 year average.



The latest Census data underline the potential to sustain above average growth into the future. Ireland’s population rose by 0.7% on average each year between 2011 and 2016, about twice the rate previously estimated. This demographic trajectory suggests scope for a potentially faster pace of Irish economic growth in coming years than had been envisaged.  We tentatively estimate that the potential GDP growth rate for the period up to 2020 might now be around 4% rather than our previous figure of just over 3% (this revised figure abstracts from any implications of the notably larger capital stock revealed in recent GDP data). 
 
This non-exhaustive information is based on short-term forecasts for expected developments in the economy and financial markets. KBC Bank cannot guarantee that these forecasts will materialize and cannot be held liable in any way for direct or consequential loss arising from any use of this document or its content. The document is not intended as personalised investment advice and does not constitute a recommendation to buy, sell or hold investments described herein. Although information has been obtained from and is based upon sources KBC believes to be reliable, KBC does not guarantee the accuracy of this information, which may be incomplete or condensed. All opinions and estimates constitute a judgment as of the date of the report and are subject to change without notice.