The Taoiseach says the government is sticking with medium-range growth prospects for the Irish economy.

That is despite the Central Bank slashing its forecast for this year from 1.8% to just 0.5%.

In its quarterly bulletin the bank also warns that the domestic economy could be held back by weaker external demand for a longer than expected time.

But Enda Kenny says the government remains convinced the economy will do better than many are predicting.

“The drop in the rate of unemployment, the increased production in terms of a number of European countries are going to add to Ireland’s capacity in the context of our exports – which are very important for (the) state of our economy” he said.

“These reports are produced on a regular basis and they vary up and down”.

“(It’s) very difficult for anybody to accurately determine what the final growth figure might be; but government have set its target out in the budget and we stand by that” he added.

The ferry link between Cork and Swansea is to end with the loss of 78 jobs.

The announcement has been made by the West Cork Tourism Co-Operative Society Limited who are the owners of the Fastnet Line.

The ferry service will be placed in receivership or liquidation later today.

It comes after an examiner was appointed to the operating company last year.

The MV Julia has been berthed in Cork city centre since then.

The ferry service is worth around €30 million to the South-West.

The ferry service had already carried 153,000 passengers before running into financial trouble.

Chairman of the West Cork Co-operative Society Noel Murphy says the news will come as a heavy blow.

“Obviously there’s a staff issue and we’re sorry to lose good staff” he said.

“We’re also very sorry for the region, our investors that got involved first day”.

“From the tourism point of view alone it’s going to be a huge loss to the local area – not just in Cork, but in Kerry”.

“There’s 30 to 50 million (Euro) of lost revenue not going to come in this year – and that will be felt heavily on the ground” he added.

The Commercial Court has heard the wife and children of businessman Sean Quinn were unaware that multi-million loans to the group were drawn down to prop up the share price of Anglo Irish Bank.

The court is dealing with preliminary issues in the family’s suit against the now-titled IBRC in which they are challenging claims they owe the bank €2.3 billion.

They deny liability for the loans claiming they were advanced for the illegal objective of manipulating the stock market.

Their lawyers say Anglo was paying to keep the show on the road and was engaged in very serious illegal activity on an ongoing and consistent basis.

Gardaí are appealing for information after a man was gunned down in a pub in Finglas in Dublin overnight.

The 36-year-old was shot a number of times in the head after a gunman walked into the Cappagh Nua pub at around 1am this morning.

The gunman is described as being around 6-foot tall and of stocky build.

He was wearing a blue or navy jacket and hoody, black tracksuit bottoms with white stripes, gloves and a scarf and he had a Dublin accent.

The scene has been sealed off for a technical examination.

A post mortem will also be carried out.

Authorities in Serbia say some 11,000 villagers are trapped by heavy snow and blizzards.

It comes as a cold spell grips Eastern Europe.

Police say those stranded live in homes in remote mountainous areas that cannot be reached by icy, snow-clogged roads.

Newstalk’s Jack Quann looks at the conditions across Europe.