I propose to take Questions Nos. 67, 100, 130, 131 and 134 together.
Ireland as a small and highly open economy — in which trade and flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) have made a major contribution to strong growth in output and employment over time — cannot expect to be unaffected by the deterioration in the global economic environment. Global growth prospects for 1999 have been downgraded significantly by the International Monetary Fund and other international forecasting agencies. However, prospects for the US and EU — the destination for three-quarters of Ireland's exports and in the case of the US the major source of FDI into the Irish economy — appear relatively favourable. The marked slow-down in emerging markets is likely to result in some deceleration in growth in the developed world. However, the consensus view at present is that economic growth in the OECD area is likely to remain reasonably robust, but as I indicated in this year's budget economic growth in Ireland is expected to slow down in 1999 and later years.