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Average weekly earnings up 5.6% to €979.71 in fourth quarter – CSO

Preliminary estimates from the Central Statistics Office for the fourth quarter of last year show that average weekly earnings rose by 5.6% to €979.71 from €927.98 the same time in 2023. The CSO said that average hourly earnings rose by 6.2% to €30.21 from €28.44. Over the five years from 2019 to 2024, average hourly […]

CCPC calls for buyers to get free access to car history

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has launched a report calling for an online portal that would see used car buyers given free access to car-history information, including write-off status and mileage readings. The CCPC said this would allow consumers to more easily access this information and help limit the number of dangerous, clocked, […]

US companies will keep positive view of Ireland even if tariffs imposed – survey

A survey of US companies that are members of the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland shows that 80% of respondents said they would continue to have a positive view of Ireland as an investment location if tariffs were imposed by the US on the EU. According to the study, 90% of respondents said their corporate […]

European car sales drop in January as falling combustion engines outweigh EV gains

New car sales in Europe were down by 2.1% in January, as a jump in fully electric and hybrid-electric car registrations in its main markets was not enough to compensate for falling petrol and diesel sales, industry data showed today. Overall sales in France, Italy, Germany and Britain were down from last year, with only […]

Govt seeks to allocate €50m for cross-border projects

Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris will seek Cabinet approval to allocate more than €50m towards cross-border projects. The Government has committed to increasing the Shared Island Fund by a further €1 billion up to 2035. Some €510.4m was allocated from the fund between 2020-2024. Up to €57m will now be set aside for […]

Corporate bosses urge Berlin to quickly move on weak economy

German business leaders have today called on Berlin to form a new government swiftly, saying that Europe’s largest economy could not afford to waste any time as companies suffer from high costs, red tape and rising competition from abroad. The country’s conservative CDU/CSU bloc won Sunday’s national election to pave the way for a coalition […]

Advertised rents rose by 5.7% in 2024 – Daft.ie report

Advertised rents rose by an average of 5.7% last year, according to the latest report by property listings website Daft.ie. The rate of increase is marginally slower than the 6.8% rise recorded in 2023. The average rent on the open market nationally is €1,956 which is 43% higher than before the outbreak of Covid-19 in […]

Rising business costs biggest challenge for 2025 – IHF

Occupancy rates in Irish hotels fell last year, while forward room bookings for 2025 are €100m lower than they were at this stage 12 months ago. Those are the some of the findings of a survey conducted this month by the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) among 195 of its members. In 2024, its says average […]

350,000 ‘hidden’ remote working jobs in Ireland – report

There are 350,000 office jobs which could be done remotely according to a new report. The research is from Grow Remote, an organisation that promotes remote working and provides training programmes for individuals and employers. The finding are based on analysis of a new Eurofound “Quality of Life in the EU 2024” survey. The data […]

State to attend forum aimed at attracting investment in property sectors

The Irish State is to take part in a major international property conference in France next month in an effort to attract investment into residential construction. Senior officials from the Department of Housing and the Department of Enterprise will be joined by executives from the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, the IDA and the Irish property […]

Ireland lacks ambition and leadership on data centres and digital infrastructure – DII

The State needs to take the lead on data centre policy in order to ensure the ongoing strength of the wider digital infrastructure industry here, according to the chair of Digital Infrastructure Ireland. Reacting to the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities proposed rules for new data centres in Ireland, announced earlier this week, Maurice […]

Number of people in employment rises to just under 2.8 million – CSO

The estimated number of people in employment in the fourth quarter of 2024 stood at just under 2.8 million, up 2.6% compared with the previous year, the Central Statistics Office’s latest Labour Force survey reveals. There was a slight quarterly fall in the numbers in employment, which decreased by 18,400, but there was also a […]

IHBA does not believe home completions will increase this year

The Irish Home Builders’ Association (IHBA) has said it does not believe house completions will increase this year. The organisation said this is due to a drop in the number of viable planning permissions combined with a lack of serviced land, infrastructure and funding for apartments. Last year, housing output fell to 30,000 homes, far […]

Positive outlook for commercial property asset types in 2025 – SCSI

A new survey from the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland has forecast a 1.4% rise in average prime office rents this year, with capital values rising by 1%. The survey also predicts prime industrial values to rise by 3.2%, with prime rents set to increase by 3.1%. The Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland said this […]

Annual house price growth slows to 8.7% in December – CSO

Residential property prices grew by 8.7% in the year to December, marking a slowdown from a revised 9.6% growth seen in the previous month, new figures from the Central Statistics Office show today. But today’s CSO figures show that average home prices are about €200,000 more expensive than they were just over a decade ago. […]

Residential vacancy rate falls to new low of 3.8%

The national residential vacancy rate fell to a new low of 3.8% in the final three months of last year. New figures from GeoDirectory and EY show that the west of Ireland had the highest vacancy rates. Leitrim topped the list at under 12%, followed by Mayo at 10.6% and Roscommon at 10.3%. The lowest […]

€1.5m fund for not-for-profits working in communities

A €1.5 million fund to foster inclusive, resilient communities and strengthen social cohesion across Ireland has been announced. The fund, run by Rethink Ireland, in partnership with law firm Mason Hayes & Curran and the Department of Rural and Community Development, will provide cash grants and business support to not-for-profits working in communities nationwide. The […]

Data centres to be required to make their carbon emissions public

Data centres are going to be required to make public their carbon emissions and use of renewables, under a new draft policy from the regulator responsible for the energy sector. The proposal is part of a decision published by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) in an effort to provide “clarity” for the sector. […]