After The Virus Hell Comes Horror Of Recession

Warning jobless total will soar to 18%

- Mick McNiffe

Ireland will plunge into a deep recession this year as the coronavirus pandemic hits hard, it was warned yesterday.

The Economic Social and Research Institute (ESRI) said the economy could contract by over 7% – with unemployment soaring to a grim 18%.

In the largest shock in living memory, up to one in six workers will be affected, with 350,000 ending up on the dole.

And it could be worse later if Ireland doesn’t start to recover. Drastic measures like closing down businesses to slow the spread of the virus and save lives will have a huge impact.

The gloomy predictions are based on the shutdown staying in place for 12 weeks and the economy recovering afterwards.

The ESRI said Covid-19 is an even greater threat to Ireland’s prosperity than the financial crash more than a decade ago.

Our economy will contract by 7.1% in 2020 and this is on the back of a 5.5% growth last year.