New car sales in the south are now down 10 percent on the same time last year.
There has been a significant drop in the commercial van sales , down 13 per cent on last year to date. As reports suggest this is a sign of further trouble ahead for the motor trade, but as also when used as an unofficial economic indicator, it would suggest that things are tightening up a bit.
New car sales in the UK plummeted by 20 percent in April - however mostly this is seen as a blip, due to the pre-April 1st rush to beat a new car tax regime deadline.
Data in from across the Eurozone in the first quarter of the year, show growth accelerating and things going well - but out here on the periphery of the continent the storm clouds may well be gathering!
However Ireland is on course to be the fastest growing economy in the eurozone for the fourth year running.
