Highest earnings for workers in non-EU multinationals – CSO
Workers in non-EU multinational companies accounted for the highest average earnings in 2023, according to a new report from the Central Statistics Office. The research shows that median weekly earnings were highest among jobs in businesses owned by non-EU multinationals. The figure stood at €906.74 a week. This was followed by enterprises owned by EU […]
Tax take rises in January
There was a further payment of €1.7 billion from Apple’s tax money into the Government’s coffers last month, according to the Department of Finance’s Exchequer Returns. The funds relate to a tax judgement that the US multinational lost at the Court of Justice of the European Union when it argued it was not liable to […]
Significant rise in car and home improvement loans – BPFI
There has been a significant jump in the number of people borrowing money to buy cars and make home improvements, according to latest figures from the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI). It said that during the third quarter of last year more than 17,000 car loans were drawn down – nearly 14% higher than […]
Services growth slows abruptly in January, PMI shows
The country’s services sector grew at its slowest pace in nine months in January as new export business contracted for the first time in six months and employment fell marginally, a survey showed today. The AIB Global S&P Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 53.4 in January from 57.1 in December, slipping below the long-run […]
Ireland will need to build 93,000 homes a year up to 2031 – Davy
Ireland will need to build 93,000 homes a year meet demand between now and 2031, according to a report by stockbroker Davy. The estimate is significantly higher than housebuilding targets included in the Coalition’s Programme for Government, which envisages 300,000 new homes being built between 2025 and 2030. Last year there were only 30,000 homes […]
Positive outlook for tourism in 2025 – Fáilte Ireland
Fáilte Ireland drove over 1.2 million referrals from its website and social media channels to the booking engines and websites of Irish tourism businesses last year. The tourism body hopes to grow that number this year, as it unveils plans to drive sustainable tourism development across the country. The chief executive of Fáilte Ireland, Paul […]
An Post to raise price of domestic stamp by 25c to €1.65
An Post has announced that the price of a stamp will increase by 25 cent to €1.65 later this month. It said the rise takes account of wage increases for postal staff, increased operating costs, and a continuing fall in the volume of letters being posted. Letter volumes have fallen by 8% in the last […]
New electric vehicle registrations up 20% in January – SIMI
New figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry show that electric vehicle (EV) sales had a record-breaking month in January. SIMI said a total of 4,925 EVs were registered in January, a 20% increase when compared to the 4,093 EVs registered the same month last year. Today’s SIMI figures also show that new […]
Over 500,000 people missing out on tax refunds – Revenue
More than half a million people are missing out on tax refunds, according to estimates from the Revenue Commissioners. It said that around €389m in tax may have been overpaid in 2024 and it is appealing to taxpayers to claim back what they are due. So far this year, more than 440,000 people discovered that […]
Buoyant manufacturing firms return to growth, PMI shows
The manufacturing sector returned to growth in January thanks to fresh impetus in output and new orders, as confidence levels among firms remained close to December’s 15-month high, a survey shows today. AIB’s Manufacturing PMI rose to 51.3 last month from 49.1 in December, crossing the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction for just […]
Fall in job vacancies but level of hybrid roles remains stable
There was a 9% quarterly decrease in the number of new job vacancies created on hiring platform IrishJobs in the fourth quarter of 2024. Manufacturing, IT, finance and science were among the sectors that posted vacancy decreases according to the latest Jobs Index from IrishJobs. The research shows that the level of hybrid working vacancies […]
Euro zone inflation edges up in January to 2.5%
Euro zone inflation ticked up slightly in January to 2.5%, edging higher for a fourth consecutive month driven by energy price increases, official data shows. Consumer prices were up from 2.4% in December 2024, slightly disappointing analysts’ expectations. Financial data firm FactSet had predicted the rate would not move. Inflation reached its lowest level in […]
Bank of Ireland increases growth forecast for domestic economy for 2025
Bank of Ireland has increased its growth forecast for the domestic economy for this year. It said modified domestic demand will expand by 4% compared to an earlier projection of 3%. It has forecast that employment will grow by 2.2% and Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which includes multinational activity, will grow by 4.3% The bank […]
Euro zone economy stagnated in last quarter, foreshadowing weak 2025
The euro zone economy stagnated last quarter as worried consumers zipped up their purses, adding to fears that a long-predicted recovery could be further delayed, Eurostat data showed today. Gross domestic product in the 20 nations sharing the euro was unchanged compared with the previous quarter, falling short of expectations for a 0.1% expansion in […]
Gold hits record high on safe-haven demand amid tariff threats
Gold prices rose to hit a lifetime high today, sparked by safe-haven demand due to US tariff threats, while the focus was also on a crucial inflation report for clues on the Federal Reserve’s policy path. Spot gold was up 1.3% at $2,794.69 per ounce, as of 1752 GMT, hitting its record high level at […]
Over 80% of consumers targeted by scammers last year
Over 80% of Irish consumers were targeted by scammers last year, new data shows. The research carried out by international money app Wise, reveals that almost half of consumers were targeted in the last three months of 2024 alone. This comes as the Irish Government has proposed new legislation, recommending measures such as the publication […]
First-time buyer mortgage drawdowns hit highest level since 2007
Mortgage drawdowns by first-time buyers (FTB) hit the highest level since 2007 last year, new figures show. The data from Banking and Payments Federation Ireland reveals that over 26,000 mortgages were drawn down by this group in 2024, worth €7.8 billion. In total, 40,030 mortgages were drawn down last year, valued at almost €12.6 billion. […]
European Central Bank expected to cut interest rates by 0.25%
The European Central Bank is expected to cut interest rates by 0.25% when its governing council meets today. This will bring the main refinancing rate, which is used to price mortgages, from 3.15% to 2.9%. The bank has been steadily cutting rates as inflation has declined from its peak of 10.6% in 2022. If the […]