‘Pressure grows for a tougher budget’ is the headline on the front page of today’s Irish Independent, with the Central Bank warning that Brian Lenihan’s growth forecasts are far too optimistic.
Lenihan had forecast the rise in economic output next year to be somewhere in the region of 3.3%, but in the Central Bank’s latest quarterly review, they put the rise in economic output next year at 2.8%, a difference which could mean a shortfall of €300 million in tax receipts next year.
The Irish Times go for a different approach, leading with the headline, ‘Central Bank says economy to grow by over 2% in 2011’. According to a report in the paper, the figure is well above expectations for the euro zone as a whole and that Ireland’s recovery remains well on track.
According to the Irish Examiner this morning, cash strapped unemployed people in this country are doing whatever it takes to put some money in their pockets, with the paper reporting a surge of interest in the clinical trials in this country.
The country’s only contract research clinic, the Shandon Clinic, is receiving about 400 enquiries a month, with the majority of calls coming from people aged 21 to 25. People who undergo trials on medicines not yet licensed for sale can expect to earn €150 a day for their troubles.
