Vol. 559 No. 1
110 Mr. Broughan asked the Minister for Finance the latest figures available to his Department on the level of economic growth for 2002 and the projected level for 2003; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25550/02]
According to the latest quarterly national accounts, published by the Central Statistics Office, economic growth, as measured by GNP, rose in real terms by 2%, year-on-year, in the first half of 2002.
I published my latest estimate for economic growth for this year as well as my forecasts for the period 2003 – 2005 in budget 2003. For this year as a whole, I expect GNP growth of 1.8% in real terms. Given the continuing weak international environment, I expect that GNP will expand by 2.5%, and GDP by 3.5% next year – on a rising trend.
