A leading economist has predicted that the international economy could begin to "turn the corner" as early as next year and is hopeful that Ireland will be back to full employment within six years.

The prediction by Prof John FitzGerald of the ESRI comes as the IDA is preparing to make a number of jobs announcements over the coming weeks.

Prof FitzGerald told a conference in Dublin last week: "I would be hopeful of a return towards full employment by 2015".

Speaking to the Sunday Tribune, FitzGerald added: "The situation is not as black as it may appear. The situation is bad now because the global economy, upon which Ireland is so reliant, has taken a severe hit. But the corollary of that is that when the world recovery starts, Ireland will grow just as rapidly," he said. "We can start looking to a rosier future when we see the first signs of spring in the US."

But the ESRI economist said he hoped to see the US, Europe and China "turn the corner" next year or in 2011, and if this does not happen, it would represent "a huge political failure".

Assuming that the international recession is not too long or drawn out, he is hopeful of full employment here within five years of this.

FitzGerald – who warned the government in 2005 about its overdependence on the construction sector – also rejected claims that Ireland is an economic basket case.

He is being inundated with requests for comments from journalists and commentators abroad who are saying if Ireland is bankrupt.

"This is wrong. People in the private sector are saving like mad because they fear they won't have a job tomorrow. They are putting their funds into banks which are repaying their net foreign liabilities. It is very hard to see how a country can go bankrupt when it is repaying its debts," he said.

Despite the fact that government borrowing is expected to exceed 10% this year, FitzGerald said that Ireland is in a very different situation to Argentina and Latvia.

"We are still in business," he added.

Barry O'Leary, chief executive of IDA Ireland, has said that despite the economic crisis, there will be a number of job announcements in the coming weeks.

"Even in a global economic downturn, there are still opportunities. From a foreign direct investment perspective, we are still winning investment. In the coming weeks, from the week after this one, and for the following few weeks, we will be making a few job announcements.

"Despite the difficulties, and we cannot underplay them, we need to maintain a firm focus and have a positive attitude. If Ireland was not a good place to do business then we would not have multinational companies like Hewlett Packard announcing 500 jobs in Leixlip last week.

"It is important for people to focus their minds on where the opportunities lie. If we are not there fighting for them, our competitor countries will be. The 'Team Ireland' approach is very important."

O'Leary added: "The important thing is to take a snapshot of Ireland today. Unlike before, if you look at the national balance sheet, it is not going into this recession burdened by huge foreign debt. Our foreign debt is relatively low by international comparisons."

The IDA chief is hopeful that the government's emergency budget on 7 April will help the economy.

"The budget coming out in April should set the road map for recovery and help us to get out of [the crisis]. Countries around the world are struggling with the recession so it is going to be difficult to speed up the economy. We need to consolidate the economy and make sure people have confidence that we are on the right road map," he added.