Consumer price inflation breached 2% in July – CSO
Consumer prices in July were 2.2% higher than they were in the same month last year, according to the Central Statistics Office. It is the first time in many years that the rate of price increases here has breached the 2% threshold that Central Banks aim to keep inflation below. The last time inflation was […]
Price of homes up over 95% from low point in 2013 – CSO
Residential property prices rose again in June, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office. The price of houses and apartments nationally rose by 6.9% in the year to June, compared to 5.4% in May. There was no change in prices in the year to June 2020. In Dublin, residential property rose by […]
Household net worth hits new high, savings increase
Irish household net worth reached a record high of €883bn in the first quarter of this year due to an increase in savings and deposits, according to new data from the Central Bank. The figures show that household savings increased by €1.5bn in the first three months to stand at €7.4bn for the quarter. The […]
Fixed rates account for bulk of new mortgage arrangements here
Lenders in the Irish market continued to charge among the highest interest rates on mortgages in June. According to figures from the Central Bank, the average rate on new agreements was 2.74% in the month. That was down 5 basis points from the average in June of 2020 when it stood at just below 2.8%. […]
Record number of daily contactless payments in June
2.4 million contactless payments were made every day in June of this year, the highest daily figure on record. New data from the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland shows that 73 million contactless payments were made in June, to the value of more than €1.2 billion. This means that June saw the largest daily figure […]
Record amount of corporation tax collected last year
The high proportion of tax revenue coming from corporation tax represents “a significant risk to the public finances,” according to a report published by the Department of Finance today. Last year, corporation tax accounted for 20% of tax revenues compared to an average 12% a decade ago. €11.8 billion was collected in corporation tax last […]
Home care sector facing ‘urgent’ recruitment shortage
A group representing the home care sector has said it is facing a recruitment crisis and has called on the Government to allow for the hiring of workers from non-EU countries as a matter of urgency. Home and Community Care Ireland said its members are close to reaching full capacity and cannot recruit enough staff […]
Weekly PUP numbers down again ahead of phased payment reduction next month
The number of people in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment this week stood at 157,712 – a drop of around 5,700 on last week. The Department of Social Protection said the weekly payment amounted to €46.7 million. It was the lowest number receiving the payment since the pandemic began with the greatest reduction observed […]
Over €30bn spent on social welfare payments last year
€30.6 billion was spent on social welfare payments last year, an increase of 46% compared to 2019 – according to new figures from the Department of Social Protection. A new report published today sets out data relating to the expenditure, recipients and beneficiaries of the schemes administered by the department, including the schemes introduced as […]
Covid adjusted jobless rate falls to pandemic-low of 13.5%
The monthly unemployment rate in July was 6.5%, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office. When those on the Pandemic Unemployment Payment are included, the Covid-adjusted unemployment rate was 13.5%. This compares to a Covid-adjusted rate of 16.2% and a traditional unemployment rate of 6.7% in June. 28.6% of those unemployed under […]
Scarce housing supply highlighted as average rents rise
Average rents for residential properties rose by 5.6% nationally between April and June, according to the latest quarterly rental report from the website Daft.ie. The report shows rents rising faster outside Dublin and a record low number of properties available for rent. The Daft.ie rental report for the second quarter of this year shows the […]
Three quarters of all businesses now operational – InterTradeIreland
Most companies on both sides of the border are firmly in recovery mode as Covid-19 restrictions ease, according to InterTradeIreland’s latest quarterly business monitor. Three quarters of all businesses are now operational, indicating a return to economic momentum, while over half of SMEs in the tourism and leisure sectors have re-opened their doors. Growth is […]
Most employees have not declared tax on employer shares
74% of employees who hold shares through their employer have not declared the tax they owe, according to a new survey by Taxback.com. The survey asked over 1,500 people from the Taxback.com database whether or not they have received shares in the past or present from their employer – of those who had, just 26% […]
Construction activity increased again in July, inflation hits record high
There was a substantial increase in construction activity once again in July, according to the latest Construction Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) from Ulster Bank. While the index which tracks changes in total construction activity dropped from 65 in June to 62.8 in July, it still suggests a substantial increase in activity last month. Index readings […]
Inflationary pressures impact food and drink sector
Irish food and drink businesses are experiencing inflationary pressures across most cost headings, according to Food Drink Ireland (FDI) the Ibec group representing the food and drink sector. FDI surveyed member companies in July to assess the extent and impact of input cost increases. It found that these increases were due to a combination of […]
Updates to hospitality guidelines on outdoor events being discussed
The Cabinet sub-committee on Covid-19 will meet today when it is expected to discuss updates to hospitality industry guidelines on outdoor events. It follows questions raised over an event hosted by former minister Katherine Zappone in a Dublin hotel last month and subsequent advice from the Attorney General. Fáilte Ireland is the State agency charged […]
Post-pandemic path to global economic health in sight
Financial and health imperative will be to invest in vaccinating the entire world The northern hemisphere is sweating through a second long summer of Covid-19. As the Delta variant gains ground in the US, Europe and even China, the contours of the global economic challenge are now clear. Libertarians and statists should lay down their […]
AIB extending negative rates to all deposits over €1m from October
The chief executive of AIB has confirmed that the bank will be extending negative interest rates to all customers with deposits in excess of €1 million from later this year. At the moment, AIB levies negative interest rates on personal customer deposits in excess of €3 million and on business customers with deposits greater than […]