Trust in news media increased over past year, report finds
RTÉ is the most trusted news source for Irish consumers, according to the annual Reuters Digital News Report, with 78% of respondents saying they trusted the service. Overall, trust in news media increased over the past year and there was an increase in the number of people watching television news during the Covid-19 pandemic. The […]
Euro zone business growth at 15-year high as demand unleashed – PMI
Euro zone business growth accelerated at its fastest pace in 15 years this month as the easing of more lockdown measures and the unleashing of pent-up demand drove a boom in the bloc’s dominant services industry. When the coronavirus was spreading rapidly, governments imposed strict restrictions, encouraging citizens to stay home and forcing much of […]
Four-day working week programme being launched
A new pilot programme for employers to test the effectiveness of a four-day working week for staff with no loss of pay is being launched today. The six-month experiment is being organised by the Four Day Week Ireland campaign, which claims it can deliver positive results for business and work/life balance for employees. “In the […]
NTMA: Interest bill on national debt to fall below €3.5bn
The interest bill on the national debt will fall below €3.5 billion this year, despite an increase in the overall level of debt. This will be less than half the record interest of almost €8 billion paid in 2013. The General Government Debt stood at €219.5 billion at the end of 2020. The average interest […]
Consumer confidence at a two year high – KBC
Consumer confidence is at a two year high, according to the latest KBC Bank Ireland consumer sentiment index. While the monthly reading of 87.2 for June is only marginally higher than the May figure of 85.8, the increase was enough to push confidence to a 24 month high. The reading for this month pushes the […]
Jobless: Will young people be scarred long-term?
With almost two thirds of those under the age of 25 who are not in education unemployed, the National Youth Council of Ireland is warning that the pandemic could have a ‘scarring effect’ on the career and employment prospects of young people. The Covid adjusted youth unemployment rate stands at 61.8%, with many young people […]
Vast majority on PUP would be financially better off at work – ESRI
Younger people are more likely to suffer from financial hardship when Covid-19 State supports are ceased, according to new research published by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI). In its latest publication, the ESRI also said that the estimated average income loss for households was more than halved as a result of pandemic payments. […]
Irish Fiscal Advisory Council calls for spending explanations
The Chair of the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council has said that politicians need to explain how they would afford to build 40,000 houses a year and retain the €4 billion that was put into the health during the pandemic. Sebastian Barnes said the money would have to come from increased taxation or through finding savings […]
Mortgage arrears continue to edge lower – Central Bank
New figures from the Central Bank show that the number of homeowners in mortgage arrears for more than 90 days fell to 5.2% at the end of March, from 5.3% three months earlier. The number of home mortgage accounts in arrears fell by 2,838 in the first three months of the year, mainly as a […]
Sinn Féin seeks to amend plans for moneylender rate cap
Sinn Féin is seeking to amend a new piece of legislation it has proposed that aims to cap the interest rate charged by moneylenders. Currently, moneylenders can charge interest of up to 187% or 288% when collection charges are taken account of. The Consumer Credit Bill, proposed by Sinn Féin’s finance spokesman, Pearse Doherty, had […]
Ireland to receive biggest share of EU Brexit fund
Ireland is set to receive the biggest share of the €5 billion EU Brexit fund, after a provisional agreement was reached today. Ireland will get over €1 billion of the Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR), which is aimed at countries and sectors worst hit by the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. The Netherlands, France, Germany and […]
Home prices see annual increase of 4.5% in April – CSO
The price of residential property increased by 4.5% in April, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office. This compares to an increase of 3.5% in March and an increase of 0.7% in the 12 months to April last year. Prices were slower to rise in Dublin, with an increase of 3.5%, while […]
ISME: PUP acting as a ‘brake’ on getting workers back
Small and medium Irish employers are warning that the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) is acting as “a significant brake” on returning workers in certain sectors of the economy and should be “tapered” faster than currently planned. Neil McDonnell, the CEO of Irish Small and Medium Enterprises (ISME), told an Oireachtas Committee that this is affecting […]
Food service market recovery slower than forecast
The food service market here will not return to the levels it was at prior to the Covid-19 pandemic until the end of next year, according to Bord Bia. The Irish food promotion board says that the prolonged lockdown in the first half of this year and gradual reopening has meant the recovery has been […]
Should you buy or rent? 5 key questions to ask
A dilemma is a situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two or more alternatives. It is precisely what is facing a vast cohort of tenants and would be home-owners here all over Ireland. House prices and rents have both already started to rise and as the nation recovers from lockdown […]
EU excludes major banks from bond sales
The European Union has excluded some of the biggest investment banks with past involvement in breaches of antitrust rules from syndicated debt sales backing its up to €800 billion Covid-19 recovery fund, the EU executive said. “The Commission will be undertaking a careful assessment of whether the primary dealers found guilty of breaching anti-trust rules […]
Numbers claiming PUP down almost 18,000 on last week
The number of people receiving the Pandemic Unemployment Payment has fallen to just over 267,000 – a decrease of almost 18,000 over the last seven days. The drop in claims reflects the continued reopening of the economy, with 24,000 people closing their PUP accounts last week to return to work. Including this week’s payments of […]
Traffic volumes rise in May as Covid travel curbs ease
New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the volume of cars on Irish roads has been rising slowly since the start of the year after the move to Level 5 restrictions in December. Volumes have been rising more rapidly since travel restrictions lifted in May, the CSO said. The easing of travel restrictions […]