The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has said that Ireland's ''moderate recovery and gradual economic rebalancing'' is projected to continue.
In a report today on world economic growth, the OECD said that exports will remain the main driver of Irish growth, which makes the country's outlook dependent on how our trading partners are faring.
The OECD said that domestic demand is projected to gradually strengthen, while business investment should pick up as multinational companies continue to build up their production facilities.
But it predicted that the country's unemployment rate is expected to decline only slightly, due to the slow recovery in the domestic sector and ''persistent skill mismatches''.
It called for ''decisive labour-market reforms'' to address the prospect of persistent high long-term unemployment, especially among young people.
Today's report said that while financial market confidence has improved, the lending environment for firms and households remains ''adverse''. It also said it was essential to make faster progress in dealing with arrears.
''For Ireland to successfully exit the official lending programme, maintaining the strong record of fiscal policy implementation will be essential, although the automatic stabilisers should be allowed to operate,'' the report said.
