The Government is concerned that wages will grow too fast next year, damaging Ireland’s competitiveness and undermining future economic growth, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has warned. His words were echoed by Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe who told The Irish Times in an interview that the Government’s goal was steady economic growth, rather than the unsustainably high growth rates, accompanied by huge spending growth, of the past. “If the economy continues to grow at the rate it is growing now I think we would have to consider not spending all of the resources available to us,” Mr Varadkar warned. “We also know that there are risks, in terms of competitiveness, if we let pay grow too fast and potentially becoming less attractive to employment into the future. He said the Government’s “first priority for next year is to keep the economy on track and manage the public finances prudently.

Source: The Irish Times December 27, 2017 00:56 UTC