Irish mortgage rates at lowest level since April 2023 – Central Bank
New figures from the Central Bank show that the average interest rate on new Irish mortgages in December fell to 3.8% – the lowest rate since April 2023 – and down from 3.97% in November. The Central Bank said the equivalent euro area average decreased by eight basis points to 3.35% in December. It noted […]
Introduction of tariffs not good for Ireland, IDA chief told
Briefings for the CEO of the IDA said he needed to be prepared for questions on President Donald Trump’s plans for tariffs which were described as “counterproductive” and “in no ones’ interests.” In Q&As and other documents from late last year, Michael Lohan was advised to emphasise that Ireland needed to focus on what “it […]
Rents should be freely adjusted between tenancies, OECD recommends
Rents should be freely adjusted between tenancies in a significant change to existing restrictions, a major new report on Ireland by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has recommended. The finding comes as the Government reviews existing limits on how much tenants pay as there are concerns they are discouraging institutional investors from […]
Irish CEOs optimistic about economy’s growth this year
Three quarters of Irish CEOs expect economic growth to pick up in the coming year, according to the latest CEO Survey from PwC. That compares to 50% of Irish CEOs last year, and is a significant improvement on the 2020 low of 16%. Almost two thirds of business leaders here also expect the global economy […]
Tánaiste to attend EU trade meeting on US tariffs
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris will join an emergency meeting of EU trade ministers via video conference later to respond to US President Donald Trump’s imposition of tariffs on European steel and aluminium imports. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has condemned the tariffs and promised “firm and proportionate” countermeasures, although […]
Flexible work remains essential for attracting talent – study
Recruitment firm Cpl has released its salary guide for 2025 detailing the expected pay levels for a wide range of roles across 20 different sectors. The guide is also emphasising that financial incentives alone no longer suffice and that flexible working remains an essential offering when it comes to attracting top talent. According to Cpl, […]
Potential replacement of GMT for Ireland to be discussed at forum
The potential replacement of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) with a domestic Irish equivalent will be among the topics discussed at a forum in Dublin. The National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI), in conjunction with Data Edge, Timing Solutions and HEAnet, is hosting Ireland’s inaugural Time & Sync Forum. Following on from the successful launch of […]
US tariffs will have some ‘secondary effects’ on Irish economy – Taoiseach
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said there would be some “secondary effects” on the Irish economy as a result of US president Donald Trump’s announcement of 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium products entering the US. Mr Trump announced the tariffs last night and warned of further reciprocal tariffs that would be announced early this […]
Govt examines introduction of ‘reference rents’ system
The Government is examining a recommendation in the Housing Commission’s report which backed the introduction of a system called “reference rents”. This would mean limits regarding how much a landlord could charge would be related to factors such as location and size of property. It is understood these reference rents could be one of a […]
New registry to clamp down on scam text messages
The Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) is setting up an SMS Sender ID Registry to identify legitimate organisations in order to help cut down on text message scams. The SMS Sender ID Registry is designed to help protect the Short Message Service (SMS) as a reliable and trustworthy communications channel. Business names and brands that […]
Oil prices climb as investors weigh new US tariffs
Oil prices moved higher today even as investors weighed US President Donald Trump’s latest tariff threat, this time on all steel and aluminium imports, which could dampen global economic growth and energy demand. Brent crude futures climbed 51 cents, or 0.7%, to $75.17 a barrel in early trade, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was […]
Mortgage switching activity picks up again as rates fall
Mortgage switching activity is growing again as customers try to take advantage of falling European Central Bank rates, according to online broker Doddl.ie. The volume mortgage customers switching lender spiked in 2022, just as the European Central Bank was poised to start raising interest rates. However, as ECB rates rose – and good fixed rate […]
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 […]