COVID-19 poses major regional challenge ď Ž By JIM POWER, Economist
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OVID-19 has highlighted the dangers of economic forecasting and business planning in a pretty dramatic fashion. Coming in to 2020, the Irish economy was showing very solid momentum, and with the outlook for the global economy starting to look a little brighter, the year ahead looked promising for Ireland.
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Much of that promise has been dashed over the past three months and the economy now finds itself grappling with the most severe challenges since 2007/08. In some ways, the current problems are more serious and severe than in 2007/08 as large swathes of the economy have been shut down. In a more standard recession,
demand slows down, but this time it has ceased almost totally in some sectors due to the fact that many businesses have been forced to cease trading. On the other hand, the recovery could be quicker as businesses are gradually allowed to re-open. The key concern is that many businesses may not be in a position to re-open or may find
NETWORK • Q2 2020
