Business lobby group Ibec has called on Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to deliver “an economic reboot of unprecedented scale” in response to the coronavirus pandemic that has shuttered schools and businesses across the country. Fears are growing that the spread of the virus will push businesses into crisis and Ibec warned that “extensive layoffs” were now inevitable over the coming days and weeks as the crisis deepened. Ireland is particularly exposed as exports account for a larger share of the economy here than any major country in the EU. Germany, Europe’s economic powerhouse, is not growing at all and Italy has been stricken by a double whammy of recession and ravages of the coronavirus outbreak. The response to the crisis so far has been mixed.

Source: Irish Independent March 15, 2020 19:30 UTC