Mr. Dan O'Brien:

The recession that the Irish economy and most peer economies have plunged into is the most dramatic and frightening I have ever seen or can be found in available data. That is the negative part. The slightly positive part is that most economies have bounced back a bit. They are well below what they were and how they functioned. Much of the bounce is being caused by governments rightly stepping in and giving significant support to households and businesses, but how sustainable that is over a longer period is questionable.

It is clear that any industry which involves people mixing together is facing very difficult times regardless of what policy choices are made - anything to do with travel and hospitality and, in second place, retail. That is because people are concerned about going indoors and some have lower incomes and feel they must save for precautionary reasons, which has a demand impact for retail. The retail sector is in second place in terms of vulnerability.