In its Public Information Notice on the Executive Board Discussion of the Republic's 2004 Article IV Consultation, the IMF suggested that growth prospects in the medium-term are expected to be less buoyant than during the country's economic boom period in the 1990s, and noted that the key challenge for the Irish authorities was likely to be managing the transition to slower growth.

Key policy recommendations made by the IMF's Executive Board included tightening the structural fiscal balance slightly in the next budget to avoid a procyclical fiscal policy, and shortening the duration of the wage component of the social partnership agreements to increase flexibility in nominal wages.

The IMF Board also recommended that the Irish authorities should continue to communicate their views about potential overheating in the housing market to help achieve a soft landing, and look to removing the subsidies to housing over the medium-term to help moderate houseprice cycles in the future.