McGrath calls on banks to keep mortgage customers out of arrears
Speaking at a Banking Payments Federation Ireland conference, Micheal McGrath said genuine people should not be allowed to fall into arrears due to higher interest rates. Speaking at a Banking Payments Federation Ireland conference, Micheal McGrath said genuine people should not be allowed to fall into arrears due to higher interest rates. By Adam Maguire […]
Government urged to tackle energy poverty in Budget
The Government is being urged to use October’s Budget to tackle energy poverty and break Ireland’s dependence on fossil fuels for home heating. A cross-section of social, environmental and voluntary organisations issued the call ahead of the National Economic Dialogue, which takes place in Dublin Castle today. The conference will see Government leaders, charities, trade […]
Mortgages from credit-servicing firms face higher interest rates, Central Bank data shows
The Central Bank has published data showing customers with mortgages at credit-servicing firms face higher interest rates. The analysis shows that 90% of loans held by the so-called ‘non-bank’ sector that administers mortgages bought up by investment funds, have an interest rate of 6.5% or less. 20% of these loans had interest rates of 6% […]
Annual inflation rate slows to 6.6% in May from 7.2%
The annual rate of inflation slowed to 6.6% in May, compared to 7.2% in April, new figures from the Central Statistics Office show today. The rate of goods inflation has slowed to 2.9% while the price of services has risen to 9.5%. The pace of inflation across the economy is gradually slowing down but prices […]
INAB calls on businesses to be ‘accreditation aware’
Today on World Accreditation Day, the Irish National Accreditation Board (INAB) is calling on businesses to employ accredited services to test, inspect, verify or certify their products or services. When manufacturing a product, a business will hire a company to make sure their products or services meet the specified requirements set out in legislation or […]
Euro area falls into technical recession in Q1
The euro area fell into a technical recession in the first quarter of this year, according to figures from Eurostat. However, across the EU as a whole, growth remained positive at 0.1% compared to the last three months of last year. Euro area GDP growth fell by 0.1% in the first three months of this […]
Household saving rate back at more typical levels in Q1 – CSO
New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the Households Saving Rate fell to 14% in the first three months of 2023, down from 24% at the end of 2022. The CSO said the lower rate of saving in the first three months of the year marked a departure from the high rate that […]
NTMA sells €1.25 billion of 2033, 2050 bonds
The National Treasury Management Agency said it sold €1.25 billion of bonds maturing in 2033 and 2050 at auction today at yields of 2.84% and 3.359%. With the completion of today’s auction, the NTMA has issued €6 billion of benchmark bonds so far this year. The NTMA has said it aims to raise between €7 […]
Airlines urge co-operation to help curb emissions
Global airlines have called for broad co-operation to reach “very tough” emission targets and pledged to release interim climate targets next year as the industry aims for a goal of net-zero by 2050. Aviation, which produces around 2% of the world’s emissions, is considered one of the hardest sectors to decarbonise. The International Air Transport […]
US tightens crackdown on crypto with lawsuits against Coinbase, Binance
The top US securities regulator has sued cryptocurrency platform Coinbase, the second lawsuit in two days against a major crypto exchange. This marks a dramatic escalation of a crackdown on the industry and one that could dramatically transform a market that has largely operated outside regulation. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday […]
Euro zone consumers hopeful of slowing inflation – ECB survey
Euro zone consumers lowered their inflation expectations, a fresh European Central Bank survey showed today, a relief for policymakers after an unexpected surge a month earlier, even if underlying price growth is still likely to be stubborn. The ECB has raised interest rates by a combined 375 basis points over the past year to arrest […]
Services sector growth slows in May – PMI
Growth in the services sector slowed slightly in May but new export business grew at its fastest rate since last summer and business expectations improved, a survey showed today. The AIB S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) slipped to 57 from 58.4 in April. But it remained above the 50 mark separating growth from contraction […]
Increased Child Benefit payment being made this month to assist with cost of living
A once-off additional €100 in Child Benefit is being paid this month to help 650,000 families with the cost of living. The extra support means that €240 per child will be paid this month in respect of more than 1.2 million children. An additional €100 payment is also being made from this month for each […]
Slight fall in corporation tax in May
Corporation tax receipts dropped slightly in May according to the latest exchequer returns, underlining the volatile nature of this source of revenue. A total of €2.7 billion in tax was collected from businesses during the month, down €200m or 6.2% on the same month last year as higher repayments and lower profitability impacted returns. However, […]
Demand for new-build homes up 114%, Daft report shows
Demand for new-build homes jumped 114% in May when compared to the same month last year, according to new figures from property listings website Daft.ie. When all homes were taken into account, the data shows that demand nationwide was 17% higher than it was 12 months ago. Demand for homes in Dublin saw the strongest […]
Ireland is on course to miss 2030 climate targets, says EPA
Ireland is on course to miss its 2030 climate targets by a large margin unless all sectors, including agriculture, electricity and transport, rapidly deliver further emission reductions and sustain this delivery into the future, according to the latest report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA has analysed how far emissions would fall if […]
Euro zone inflation drops more than expected in relief for ECB
Euro zone inflation eased more than expected last month as underlying price growth also slowed, fuelling a debate about the need for further European Central Bank rate hikes beyond an increase later this month. Inflation in the 20 nations sharing the euro eased to 6.1% in May from 7% in April, below expectations for 6.3% […]
Government approves pay increase for employment support scheme staff
The Government has approved a 5% pay increase for more than 1,600 supervisors and team leaders of employment support schemes. The pay deal will benefit employees of organisations that manage Community Employment Schemes, Tús, the Rural Social Scheme and Job Initiative. The workers will see a pay increase of 3% from 1 April 2023, which […]