Ireland is only “technically” in a recession, according to Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe.
The CSO reported on Friday that the economy as a whole shrank by 3.2% in gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023, confirming a recession in the country.
Speaking on The Anton Savage Show today, the Fianna Fáil TD addressed concerns around shrinking GDP, calling it a “technical matter”.
“It makes little difference to the lives of your listeners,” he said.
“We all define what a recession can look like by where we are with employment and what the Government is ablet to do with the funding in of our public services and the health of our public finances.
“Last year we saw further increase in the number of people at work in Ireland and that public finances are in surplus.”
The current recession is due to a shrinking GDP, rather than a shrinking gross national income (GNI), according to Mr Donohoe.
Multinational companies interacting with the Irish economy has caused the drop in GDP, while domestic spending within Ireland is normal.
While the companies are “so important to us from an employment perspective”, Mr Donohoe argued public finances remain strong.
“To see inflation moving to near 2% is so important,” he said. “It does mean prices are going up but at a far slower pace.”
Housing in a recession
When asked about the Government failing to build homes in the previous financial recession, the minister said the crash was a “reminder of what you should do at nearly all costs to avoid going bankrupt”.
“If you run out of money and your construction sector flees to the four corners of the world, it takes years to build it back which is why for me my defining lesson in politics continues to be keep your public finances safe.
Mr Donohoe, who was a senator at the time of the crash, said he would have kept up construction if the “tools had been available”.
RTÉ chair
Finally addressing the search for a new RTÉ chair following Siún Ní Raghallaigh’s departure, Mr Donohoe said that decision was up to Catherine Martin and the party leaders.
He did, however, not two priorities he would have for a new chair.
“Number one is a track record and experience in running a leading organisation and number two is the context of organisations that are changing and facing external pressure,” he said.
While he, like many others, is “weary” of the scandal plaguing RTÉ in recent months, Mr Donohoe said “public service broadcasting matters and we keep on with this to get it to a better place”.
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