The so-called "Leprechaun economics" effect means Ireland will be spending EU funds on a smaller scale and in a more "targeted" way, Paschal Donohoe has said. Ireland was the only EU economy to grow last year, according to the European Commission. While GDP is seen as a poor measure of Ireland's domestic economic output,it is the standard metric used by the EU. Before any EU funding can be paid out, countries have to submit national plans to the Commission and approve a law allowing the bloc to raise money on bond markets. Large capital buffers in Irish banks have helped them to weather the Covid storm, Mr Donohoe said.

Source: Irish Independent February 17, 2021 07:07 UTC