Against this backdrop the review highlights that the Northern Ireland economy remains 3.6 per cent below its 2007 peak when house prices hit a record level. The latest figures also show that Northern Ireland’s economic performance was dramatically worse than the UK and Republic’s during 2019. According to Richard Ramsey, Ulster Bank chief economist in Northern Ireland, last year was a “turning point for Northern Ireland’s private sector”. It appears the Northern Ireland economy has ended the decade the way it began, 2020 is set to be a challenging year with Brexit remaining a work in progress,” said Mr Ramsey. But it is clear, as far as economic growth is concerned, the Northern Ireland economy appears stuck in the crawler lane.”

Source: The Irish Times January 16, 2020 19:18 UTC