West Belfast. Growth in the North will only be 1.4 per cent this year compared to 4.9 per cent in the Republic PAUL FAITH/AFP/GETTY IMAGESStrong jobs growth and low inflation will push Irish growth to 4.9 per cent in 2017, the fastest of any European country, a new report has found. Irish net employment has increased by 12.4 per cent over the past three years and a further 138,500 jobs will be created by 2020, according to EY, the accountancy firm. In contrast, it predicted Northern Irish GDP growth will be only 1.4 per cent for the year. Neil Gibson, chief economist at EY Ireland, said that the Republic was in a “position of strength” to face the…

Source: The Times December 11, 2017 00:00 UTC