Advertising spending in the Irish market will grow almost 3 per cent this year, according to new forecasts from ZenithOptimedia. The 2.7 per cent rate of expansion pencilled in for this year is the second-highest level of growth forecast by the media agency in western Europe, with only Belgium predicted to do any better.

ZenithOptimedia, which is part of the Publicis group, says online advertising spending (including mobile) in Ireland "will reach the same levels as TV for the first time ever" this year, and will overtake television advertising next year.

By 2016, online advertising will account for 32 per cent of advertising spending, which it describes as a “significant increase” on last year, when it accounted for 25.5 per cent of spending. Over this time, television’s share of the market will remain flat at 28 per cent, with most of the share growth in online coming from declines in print advertising spending.

Any growth in the Irish advertising market this year will be the first since 2007, and Irish media owners may find more comfort in ZenithOptimedia’s prediction of 4.5 per cent and 6.6 per cent growth in spending for 2015 and 2016 respectively.

The media agency’s Advertising Expenditure Forecasts report, which covers 80 countries, says advertisers are beginning to commit higher budgets to the struggling euro zone, which has suffered a 15 per cent drop in advertising spending since 2007. However, advertising spend growth across the region, the first since 2010, is expected to be just 0.7 per cent in 2014.