Agreement over NI Protocol important – Enterprise Ireland CEO
The Chief Executive Officer of Enterprise Ireland has said that Ireland was uniquely placed to do well in global markets, but reaching an agreement on the Northern Ireland Protocol was important. Speaking on RTÉ’s The Business programme, Leo Clancy added that the aim of Enterprise Ireland is that at some point it will no longer […]
Movies and TV productions share in €127.3m corporation tax credits for 2022
New movies starring Liam Neeson, Kerry Condon, Sarah Greene and Russell Crowe were some of the big winners in the Revenue Commissioners’ Section 481 film corporation tax credit scheme for the Irish movie and TV production sector last year. New figures provided by the Revenue Commissioners show that the value of payments made under the […]
Changes in shopping behaviour due to food inflation
Irish people are changing their shopping behaviour and their attitudes toward food and drink, according to detailed new consumer research prepared for Bord Bia. The research shows more people are shopping for essentials, meat purchases are being cut except for chicken, and consumers say shopping lists are more important in recent months. Throughout last year […]
Sales of electric cars increased by 81% in 2022 – CSO
The number of new electric cars licensed for the first time in 2022 increased by 81% to 15,462 compared with the previous year, according to figures from the Central Statistics Office. Overall, 101,349 new cars were licensed last year, a slight decrease compared with 2021. The CSO said the number of used cars licensed last […]
Payments to businesses of €9.5m approved under TBESS so far
€9.5m has been approved for payment so far under the Government’s €1.3 billion Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS). The scheme was announced as part of Budget 2023 to help businesses cope with the recent rises in energy costs. It provides qualifying businesses with up to 40% of the increase in electricity or gas bills […]
New Irish mortgage rates 3rd lowest in euro area
Interest rates on new mortgages remained unchanged in November, according to the latest figures from the Central Bank. The weighted average rate on new mortgages was 2.57%. This is down 14 basis points, or 0.14% compared to November 2021. The average for new fixed rate mortgages, which now comprise 93% of all new mortgages, was […]
Unemployment rate drops slightly in December to 4.3% – CSO
The unemployment rate declined marginally in December to 4.3% from 4.4% in November, according to the Central Statistics Office. This compares to a rate of 5.1% in December 2021. It’s also lower than the 4.8% recorded in December 2019, before the pandemic. The seasonally adjusted number of people unemployed was 114,500 in December last year, […]
Irish food and drink exports reach record high of €16.7 billion
The value of Ireland’s food, drink and horticulture exports increased by 22% last year to reach a new record high of €16.7 billion. Bord Bia’s Export Performance and Prospects report shows the significant increase in food and drink exports, up €3 billion since last year and almost 30% on pre-pandemic levels, can be attributed to […]
Employment at Enterprise Ireland backed firms rose 5% last year
The number of people employed at firms backed by Enterprise Ireland (EI) rose 5% last year to 218,178, despite the difficult trading environment. It said 10,841 net new roles were created over the 12 months, down slightly on the record 11,911 jobs added a year previously. In total, 19,660 positions were generated by companies supported […]
Grocery sales hit a record-breaking €1.3 billion as inflation bites
New figures from Kantar show that grocery inflation here now stands at a record high of 15.4% for the 12-week period ending December 25, 2022. Kantar said this is higher than UK grocery price inflation which currently stands at 14.2%. Today’s figures show that take-home grocery sales in Ireland increased by 10% in the four […]
EU reaches agreement with UK on access to IT system
The EU and UK have reached an agreement on EU access to UK IT systems governing the movement of goods from Britain to Northern Ireland in what is seen as a significant development in the ongoing talks over the Northern Ireland Protocol. The agreement was announced following a meeting between the British foreign secretary James […]
Euro zone inflation falls sharply in December but offers ECB little respite
Euro zone inflation fell by more than expected last month but underlying price pressures rose, making it likely the European Central Bank will continue raising interest rates for months to come. Consumer price growth in the bloc that expanded to 20 nations when Croatia joined on 1 January, slowed to 9.2% in December from 10.1% […]
Remote and hybrid job posts up 43%
Irish job posts offering remote and hybrid work have increased by 43% over the last 12 months according to a new study. The report has been published by Zoom in collaboration with FRS Recruitment. A snapshot of hybrid and remote work opportunities advertised between October 2021 and October 2022 shows that 33% of all job […]
Retail sales volumes slow down in November – CSO
Retail sales volumes in November declined from the previous month as increases in sales of clothing and electrical goods failed to offset sharp falls in the bar and car sales. New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that retail sales fell by 1.4% in November when compared with October on a seasonally adjusted basis. […]
Flexible working hours good for business – UN
Flexible working arrangements like those introduced during the Covid-19 crisis are not only good for employees but also boost productivity and potentially a business’s bottom line, the United Nations said today. In its first report focusing on work-life balances, the UN’s International Labour Organization evaluated the effects of working time, working hours and working time […]
Euro zone producer prices fall as expected in November
Euro zone producer prices fell month-on-month as expected in November, the EU’s statistics office said today, pulled down by falling costs of energy. The European Union’s statistics office Eurostat said prices at factory gates in the 19 countries sharing the euro fell 0.9% month-on-month for a 27.1% year-on-year rise. The monthly fall was mainly due […]
Inflation hit a 38 year high in 2022 but economy strong – CSO
The Central Statistics Office has published an online compilation of significant statistics about the economy and business recorded last year. The report notes that inflation reached a 38 year high in 2022, with the annual rate peaking at 9.2% in October before falling slightly in November. This was based on big increases in energy prices […]
Services sector growth picks back up in December
Expansion in the services sector picked up in December following four months of slowing growth in a row to push overall activity in the private sector back into positive territory, a survey showed today. The AIB S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for services rose to 52.7 from 50.8 in November. It had come close […]