Beware of negative impacts of Brexit, IMF warns Ireland

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in a report, has warned Irish government to prepare for the negative impacts of Brexit. According to the report, the after effects will be ‘negative and significant’ as far as the Irish economy is concerned.

The Irish government is told to set aside significant resources to deal with the risks ahead, as the impact is expected to be huge, especially for the employment in rural Ireland.

Growth is strong and the economic recovery is well under way, the IMF noted.

But with the risk of a hit to growth and tax revenues from Brexit, the IMF has called on the Government to ensure it has room for budgetary manoeuvre and that it does more to tackle key infrastructure problems, particularly the housing shortage.

To fight the anticipated economic downfall for Ireland, IMF suggested working on areas like housing supply, including a levy on vacant sites to encourage development.

Ensuring affordable housing is a vital social priority, as well as being important to economic competitiveness, the report suggested.

On housing, the IMF asked the Irish government to conduct a planned review of the ‘help-to-buy scheme’, which offers a tax refund of up to €20,000 to first-time buyers. This is because the IMF has felt that this scheme might add to demand pressures.