Could we see a Celtic Tiger Mark Two?

Keeping the positivity going, the Irish Times recently reported Mr Douglas McWilliams – a former chief economic adviser to the CBI and chief economist for IBM UK – is extraordinary bullish about Ireland from 2011 out.

“Because of the huge boost to Irish competitiveness from lower wages, combined with the likelihood of a falling euro and strong economic growth in Germany and other parts of Northern Europe, a ‘Celtic Tiger Mark Two’ era could start as early as 2012 with economic growth above 6 per cent for at least four years,” he suggests.

The icing on the cake is that buoyant tax revenues could wipe out the Budget deficit by 2013 and rather than sell off the banks the Government should hold its nerve, he argues .