Parent’s Leave and Parent’s Benefit extended from today
From today, Parent’s Leave and Parent’s Benefit will be extended from seven weeks to nine weeks. The measures were announced as part of Budget 2024. Parents will be able to claim the additional two weeks’ leave if their child is under the age of two, or if an adopted child has been placed with a […]
Fed holds rates steady, nods to possible September cut
The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady this evening but opened the door to reducing borrowing costs as soon as its next meeting in September as inflation continues coming into line with its 2% target. “There has been some further progress toward the Committee’s 2% objective,” the central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee said in […]
Plan to transform rail on island of Ireland to be published
A plan to transform the rail system on the island of Ireland through electrification, additional track capacity, increased speeds and more frequent services is to be published. The final report from the All-Island Strategic Rail Review sets out a vision up to 2050 and was jointly commissioned by authorities north and south. The cost of […]
Developer loan approvals by State-backed HBFI pass €2bn threshold
Almost €400m in new lending for the construction of new homes was approved by the State’s building finance body in the first half of 2024. That will go towards the construction of just over 2,700 housing units, according to Home Building Finance Ireland. It brings to €2.05 billion the amount approved by the HBFI since […]
Call on Govt to assist parents with back-to-school costs
Children’s charity Barnardos has called on the Government to introduce a suite of measures to assist parents with back-to-school costs. They include a voluntary contribution code of practice, extension of the free book scheme to all secondary school students, affordable uniform options, an increased back-to-school allowance for parents on low income and a digital education […]
Annual rate of inflation steady at 1.5% in July – CSO flash reading
The latest “flash” estimate of inflation from the Central Statistics Office shows that the annual rate came in at 1.5% in the year to July, unchanged from a more than three-year low in June. The rate of 1.5% compares with an annual increase of 2.5% in the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) for the […]
Increase in job vacancies in second quarter – study
There was a 14.4% increase in professional job openings in the second quarter of the year compared to the previous quarter, according to new data. The latest Quarterly Employment Monitor from recruitment firm Morgan McKinley shows that the surge in vacancies was primarily observed during April and May, with a slight downturn in June. The […]
Increase in number of workers who can’t afford a holiday – study
There has been an increase in the number of workers in Ireland who cannot afford a week’s holiday away from home, either in their own country or abroad, according to new research. Analysis of EU data for the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has found that in 2022, an estimated 14.8% of Irish workers could […]
79% of FDI decision-makers planning Irish investment
Nearly 80% of foreign direct investment decision-makers are planning to establish or expand operations in Ireland over the next year. That is according to the latest EY Attractiveness Survey, and marks a significant improvement on the result from 2023. In last year’s survey just 53% of FDI decision-makers said they were planning an investment in […]
Economy as measured by GDP grew by 1.2% in second quarter
The economy as measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 1.2% between April and June when compared to the previous three months. That is according to an early estimate from the Central Statistics Office, which shows that this growth was mainly driven by the multinational dominated industry sector. When compared to the same quarter […]
Mortgage drawdowns rise 2.2%, approvals continue to fall
The number of mortgage drawdowns by first time buyers reached the highest level since 2007 between April and June, new data shows. The latest figures from Banking and Payments Federation Ireland show an overall moderation in mortgage activity. A total of 10,110 new mortgages to the value of over €2.85 billion were drawn down by […]
Commercial construction cost inflation flat in first half
Commercial construction inflation was 1.5% in the first half of the year, the same rate as the six months before that. It means that the annual median national rate of commercial construction inflation for the year to June was 3%. That’s more than of the half the rate of 6.2% recorded in the previous 12 […]
Vessels at main Irish ports down 5% in first quarter – CSO
New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that Irish ports handled 12.1 million tonnes of goods in the first quarter of this year, an increase of 2% compared with the same time last year. The CSO said that goods forwarded from Irish ports amounted to 3.8 million tonnes during January, February and March, while […]
Consumer sentiment hits 2 1/2 year high in July
The consumer mood has risen to its highest level in two and a half years, according to the latest Credit Union consumer sentiment index. Easing cost-of-living concerns and continued improvements in the economy have boosted consumers’ attitudes, according to the survey. That led to an across-the-board pick up in the index’s readings. Consumers were more […]
Number of homes bought by non-household entities falls by almost 10% last year
New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that non-household entities bought a total of 12,201 homes at market prices last year, a decrease of 9.8% on the 13,522 purchases made by this group in 2022. Non-household entities are private companies, charitable organisations and state institutions. The CSO said the total value of the purchases […]
Banks under pressure to improve deposit rates
Pressure was coming to bear on the banks this time last year to offer better returns to depositors against the backdrop of rising interest rates. They did respond with better offerings but consumers have to be willing to set their money aside for a few years in order to avail of the better rates. Most […]
Govt must do more to ensure Ireland remains competitive, watchdog warns
Ireland’s competitiveness watchdog has warned that the Government needs to do more to address significant longstanding challenges to securing the country’s ability to remain competitive into the medium to long-term, particularly in relation to infrastructure. In its flagship annual piece of research, Ireland’s Competitiveness Challenge 2024, the council said that while compared to other EU […]
Euro zone business growth stalls in July, PMIs show
Growth in euro zone business activity stalled this month as a tepid expansion in the bloc’s dominant services industry failed to offset a deeper downturn among manufacturers, a survey showed today. HCOB’s preliminary composite Purchasing Managers’ Index, compiled by S&P Global, dropped to 50.1 this month from June’s 50.9. This was barely above the 50 […]