Ireland revises growth forecasts upward, sees mounting threats from abroad

DUBLIN, April 26 (Reuters) - Ireland (Other OTC: IRLD - news) increased its growth forecasts for the next three years on Tuesday, predicting the economy will expand by 4.9 percent this year, but warning that heightened international uncertainty could generate significant headwinds.

The growth projections would likely see Ireland outperform the rest of the euro zone for a third straight year after its economy grew by 7.8 percent in 2015, just two years after it completed an international bailout.

"While the central scenario for economic activity in Ireland over the next eighteen months or so is a reasonably benign one, internationally the level of uncertainty is higher than at any stage since the height of the financial crisis," Ireland's Finance Ministry said in its bi-annual update. (Reporting by Padraic Halpin, editing by G Crosse)