THE IRISH economy will grow by half a percentage point in 2009 in terms of gross domestic product (GDP), according to a new forecast by accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), in what is one of the most positive assessments of the Irish economy's prospects for some time.

Analysis by PwC says the rate of economic growth in the Irish economy will fall dramatically from 6 per cent GDP in 2007 to -1 per cent in 2008, before recovering to 0.5 per cent next year. This compares with a Budget day forecast by the Department of Finance that GDP will contract by 0.75 per cent in 2009 with gross national product (GNP) falling by 1 per cent.

GNP excludes the value of multinational profits that are expatriated to the companies' home countries.