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The clo­sure of bars and restau­rants over the past few months has sharp­ened con­cerns about the di­rec­tion of the econ­o­my, bring­ing in­to fo­cus slow­er ac­tiv­i­ty in the ser­vices sec­tor and re­newed anx­i­ety about em­ploy­ment, pub­lic fi­nances, and so­cial sta­bil­i­ty.

Econ­o­mist Dr Ralph Hen­ry warn the coun­try no longer has the re­sources to “keep the econ­o­my tick­ing over in the way it might have done be­fore,” as low­er en­er­gy prices and de­clin­ing pro­duc­tion tight­en the State’s fis­cal space.

“The point about it is that the econ­o­my has shrunk and there aren’t the re­sources to keep it tick­ing over in the way it might have done be­fore,” Hen­ry said. He point­ed to the cen­tral role of Gov­ern­ment ex­pen­di­ture in sup­port­ing pub­lic ser­vices and a wide range of eco­nom­ic ac­tiv­i­ty. When those re­sources are con­strained, the ef­fects rip­ple through com­mu­ni­ties.