Additional €8.3bn funding for use in Budget 2025
The Government is to make €8.3 billion in additional funding available for use in Budget 2025, its last before the next general election. €1.4bn of that money is to be spent on funding tax cuts and €6.9bn is to be used for increased expenditure. It means that total spending will rise by 6.9% in 2025, […]
New enhanced unemployment benefit rules passed by Oireachtas
Planned new laws aimed at ensuring enhanced benefits for those with a strong work history who become unemployed have passed through the Oireachtas. Under the new rules, the weekly rate of payment for people who have at least five years paid PRSI contributions will be set at 60% of previous earnings, subject to a maximum […]
Year-on-year wage growth in Ireland rose to 4.3% in June
Year-on-year wage growth in Ireland was 4.3% in June, up slightly from the 4% to 4.1% range recorded since the start of this year, according to new research. The data is contained in the latest report in a wage growth series from jobs website Indeed.ie and the Central Bank of Ireland. It shows that despite […]
Data availability an obstacle to sustainability reporting
The Government says a new EU law aimed at tackling greenwashing will strengthen the rules around the social and environmental information which companies have to report. The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive has been signed into law by Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke. Under the law, companies will have to report in more detail about the […]
UK to re-introduce mandatory housing targets
The UK’s finance minister has announced that she will re-introduce mandatory housing targets. In her first speech as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves said that the new government will build 1.5 million homes over the next five years. Ms Reeves also announced plans to boost economic growth, adding that it was a national mission. […]
Summer Economic Statement to outline size of Budget 2025
The Government will outline the size of the financial package for October’s budget later today, when it publishes the Summer Economic Statement. The document sets out the Government’s medium-term budgetary strategy and the fiscal parameters around which Budget 2025 discussions between ministers will take place. It will give details of the size of any overall […]
Asking prices for homes rising at fastest rate in almost two years
Asking prices for homes across the country rose at the fastest rate in almost two years in the 12 months to the end of June, new data shows. According to the MyHome.ie Property Price Report, advertised prices nationally were up 7.3% with the median asking price reaching €365,000. The last time the annual inflation rate […]
Total construction activity falls for second month in a row
Total construction activity fell for the second month in a row in June, new data shows. BNP Paribas Real Estate Total Construction PMI index fell to 47.5, from 49.8 in May. The report suggests that a fall in commercial activity was a key factor behind the latest reduction in total activity. “Commercial activity surged through […]
Euro zone investor morale drops, breaking streak of gains in “setback”
Investor morale in the euro zone broke an eight-month streak of improvements with a bigger-than-expected decline in July, a survey showed today, describing the results as a “bitter setback”. Sentix’s index for the euro zone fell to -7.3 points for July from 0.3 in June, putting the barometer firmly back in the red. Analysts polled […]
Cabinet approves Bill to introduce pension auto-enrolment
Draft legislation designed to set up the new pension auto-enrolment system has been approved by the Cabinet. If enacted, the Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill will result in up to 800,000 private sector workers, who currently do not have a pension, becoming automatically enrolled in one. The aim of the plan is to extend […]
Makhlouf urges Government to stick to its own 5% spending increase rule in Budget 2025
The Governor of the Central Bank has urged the Government to stick to its own rule limiting the overall annual increase in spending to 5% in the upcoming budget. Gabriel Makhlouf also advised the new Minister for Finance, Jack Chambers, that it will be necessary to strike the right balance to avoid the risks of […]
ECB accounts show some worries about stalling disinflation
Some European Central Bank policymakers felt uneasy about recent inflation developments when they cut interest rates last month and feared that any further delay in reaching the target would be costly, the accounts of their June 5-6 meeting showed today. The ECB cut interest rates at that meeting and signalled that more easing is likely […]
Tax take for first half of year up 9%, exchequer figures show
The State took in a total of €44.7 billion in tax in the first six months of the year, up more than 9% on the same period last year, the latest exchequer returns show. The strong performance was driven in particular by corporation tax, income tax and VAT and contributed to an exchequer surplus of […]
Harris meets banks over mortgage interest rates
The Taoiseach has told the banks he wants people to feel the benefits of reduced monthly mortgage repayments as quickly as possible as interest rates begin to fall. Simon Harris has now concluded a series of meetings with banks, credit unions and non-bank lenders. The meetings focused on mortgage interest rates, the housing sector and […]
Budget 2025 to be brought forward to 1 October – Chambers
Budget 2025 is to be brought forward one week to Tuesday 1 October, Minister for Finance Jack Chambers has said. Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Mr Chambers said it was the “natural date” to hold the Budget due to ministerial commitments in Europe the following week. “We’ve to submit our fiscal and budgetary submission to […]
Govt to draft law to dissolve NAMA and wind up IBRC
The Government has given the go-ahead for the drafting of legislation to complete the dissolution of the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) and the winding up of the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC). When enacted, the laws will facilitate the planned ending of the liquidation of IBRC by the end of this year and the […]
Bank of Ireland revises GDP outlook, but expects healthy growth
Bank of Ireland has downgraded its outlook for growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to 1% this year and 3.9% in 2025. The bank had previously guided GDP growth of 1.5% for 2024 and 4% next year. The downwards revision was accounted for mainly by distortions associated with the multinational sector rather than any material […]
Service sector growth moderates, input costs fall sharply
Growth in the country’s service sector moderated slightly in June, bringing jobs growth to a near standstill but a sharp drop in input costs offered welcome relief to firms, a survey showed today. The AIB Global S&P Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 54.2 from 55 in May, broadly in line with the trend for the […]