• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Irish America

Irish America

        • Who We Are
          • About Us
          • Irish America Team
        • The Lists
          • Business 100
          • Hall of Fame
          • Health and Life Sciences 50
          • Wall Street 50
        • Highlights
          • History
          • In This Issue
          • Music
          • Politics
          • Sports
          • Travel
        • Columns
          • First Word
          • Hibernia
          • Quote Unquote
          • Slainte
          • Those we Lost
          • What are you like?
          • Wild Irish Women
          • Window on The Past
  • Home
  • Who We Are
    • About This Magazine
    • Irish America Team
  • In This Issue
  • Hall of Fame
  • The Lists
    • Business 100
    • Hall of Fame
    • Health and Life Sciences 50
    • Wall Street 50
  • Archives
    • Magazine
    • Highlights
  • Travel
  • Events

The Punt Takes a Pounding…

By Irish America Staff
December / January 2001

December 1, 2000 by Leave a Comment

If you’re planning a trip to Ireland, now’s the time. The Irish pound has hit a 15-year low in its exchange rate with the dollar, falling to as low as 95 cents at the time of going to press. It is expected that the rate will continue to fall due to the Euro’s weak performance on foreign currency markets. The Irish pound or punt is now tied to the Euro since eleven European countries formed the unified currency in 1999.

“The Euro looks set to remain weak as there are signs of continued pressure on the currency,” Geraldine Concagh, an economist with Allied Irish Bank’s capital markets in Dublin, told The Irish Voice. “We’ve seen it hit new lows day after day. It is partly due to the strength of the dollar, but also to the yen.”

The weakening of the currency stands in contrast to the positive growth of European economies, running counter to the fundamentals of economics. As Concagh points out, “The figures have all been positive. The weaker economies of the Euro zone have been picking up recently and so while economies are booming, currencies are falling. As we go to press the exchange rate for the Euro against the dollar is about 83 cents.

“Though economies such as ours are strengthening,” she continues, “the U.S. economy continues to outperform the rest.”

There is no sign of recovery in the immediate future without intervention from the European Central Bank, but as Concagh points out, ECB intervention would be useless without the support of other international banks such as the Federal Reserve, and as Concagh says, “The Fed aren’t interested in weakening the dollar just to accommodate other currencies.”

Meanwhile Ireland’s population boom continues unabated as the country reaches its tenth consecutive year of population growth. The population is now at 3.79 million, the highest population level since 1881. As Brian Lavery reported in The New York Times, immigrants outnumbered people leaving the country for the fifth year in a row, by 42,300 to 18,200. Irish natives returning to Ireland made up 43 percent of the immigrants, the largest single group. ♦

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Highlights

News
Articles and stories from Irish America.....
MORE

Hibernia
News from Ireland and happenings in Irish America.....
MORE

Those We Lost
Remembering some of the great Irish Americans who have passed.....
MORE

Slainte!
Discover Irish ancestry, predilections, and recipes.....
MORE

Photo Album
Irish America readers share the stories of their ancestors....
MORE

More Articles

  • Niall O'Dowd with Loretta Brennan Glucksman (center), co-chair of the Glucksman Ireland House at NYU, and Niall's wife Debbie McGoldrick, the Editor of the Irish Voice at the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick dinner on March 16. Photo courtesy John Sanderson/AnnieWatt.comHow the Irish Famine Changed American History
    Niall O'Dowd, Irish America's publisher, was the guest of honor at the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick...
  • <b>Fiona Shaw: A Modern Classic</b>Fiona Shaw: A Modern Classic
    She says she's jetlagged, that her head feels as if an arrow is piercing both temples, but Fiona Sha...
  • <b>Moores Creek Bridge: A small battle with huge implications</b>Moores Creek Bridge: A small battle with huge implications
    Small bands of Patriots and Loyalists who fought with fierce devotion were formed during the early ...
  • <b>Mick Moloney Remembered at Irish Arts Center</b>Mick Moloney Remembered at Irish Arts Center
    Mick Moloney, a legend in the history of Irish music, who passed away suddenly on July 30, 2022, wil...

Footer

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Subscribe

  • Subscribe
  • Give a Gift
  • Newsletter
  • Customer Service

Additional

  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Terms of Use & Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 · IrishAmerica Child Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in