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Department to publish Tax Strategy papers today

The Department of Finance will publish its Tax Strategy Group papers this morning, which will outline options for next month’s Budget. The papers are expected to cover a range of issues including income tax and environmental taxes. Every year the Department of Finance prepares briefing notes for the Minister of Finance on the potential options […]

Surge in scams expected as banks depart market

Victims of text message scams were left out of pocket to the tune of €1,700 on average during the first six months of this year, according to FraudSMART – a fraud awareness initiative led by the Banking and Payments Federation. Businesses suffered an average loss of €14,000 as a result of invoice fraud but in […]

Just 716 homes available to rent on 1 August – Daft

Advertised rents for homes were 12.6% higher between April and June than they were in the same three-month period last year. That is according to the latest rental report from property listings website, Daft.ie, which found that during the quarter the rate of increase reached its highest level since the index was launched 16 years […]

Investment potential & renewable dividend from hydrogen – report

The development of green hydrogen as a power source at scale here could attract significant overseas investment, lead to the creation of thousands of jobs and solidify the country’s status as a hub for renewable energy. This is one of the findings of a report on the potential for hydrogen power from the representative body, […]

Revenue for radio operators in Ireland up 18% in H1 – Radiocentre Ireland

Revenue for all radio operators in Ireland in the first six months of the year was up 18% on the same time last year, according to figures published by Radiocentre Ireland. The revenue data is based on the actual recorded revenues for each radio station in Ireland. The report shows that the Irish radio advertising […]

Wind electricity generation helps moderate wholesale price – report

There was a €40 difference in the cost of wholesale electricity here in July between the days on which most energy was generated from wind and those with the least. According to Wind Energy Ireland, the average wholesale cost of electricity was €267.19 per Megawatt Hour (MwH) during the month. The price varied from €256.66 […]

Consumers spending more as essentials inflate – Revolut

Spending on groceries, restaurants and fuel is increasing month-on-month, according to banking app Revolut, as consumers prioritise while inflation surges. In contrast, spending on clothes shopping, and leisure activities such as sports clubs and cinemas has dropped. Supermarket spending was up 6.6% per consumer in July, compared to June. However, looking back since last year, […]

Wind electricity generation helps moderate wholesale price – report

There was a €40 difference in the cost of wholesale electricity here in July between the days on which most energy was generated from wind and those with the least. According to Wind Energy Ireland, the average wholesale cost of electricity was €267.19 per Megawatt Hour (MwH) during the month. The price varied from €256.66 […]

Rise in number of termination notices received by RTB

The number of termination notices received by the Residential Tenancies Board in the first half of the year rose by 58%, compared with the latter half of 2021. Almost 3,000 notices of termination were received in the first half of 2022, compared to over 1,800 in the final six months of 2021. According to RTB […]

Lidl Ireland removes mandatory retirement age of 65

Lidl Ireland has removed its mandatory retirement age clause for current and new employees from today. This means the company will give all employees the option to continue working beyond the age of 65. The retailer said its decision will allow the company to attract more “mature” and “life-experienced” talent, as well as offering more […]

Oil prices climb on supply shortage concerns

Oil prices rose today, bouncing off their lowest levels since February in the previous session, as supply shortage concerns were enough to cancel out fears of slackening fuel demand. Brent crude rose 55 cents, or 0.6%, to $94.67 a barrel early this morning while US West Texas Intermediate crude was up 65 cents, or 0.8%, […]

Three grain ships leave Ukraine, one bound for Ireland

Three ships loaded with grain, one of which is bound for Ireland, have left Ukrainian ports under a recently concluded safe passage deal, the Turkish defenсe ministry said. The first grain ship to set sail from a Ukrainian port since the start of the Russian invasion, departed Odesa on Monday. “We expect that the security […]

UN chief slams ‘excessive’ profits of oil, gas firms amid Ukraine war

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for taxation on windfall profits of oil and gas companies to ease the impact of the global energy crisis on the most vulnerable people. “It is immoral for oil and gas companies to be making record profits from this energy crisis on the back of the poorest people and […]

Euro zone consumers brace for recession and high inflation – ECB survey

Consumers in the euro zone are bracing for the economy to shrink and for high inflation to continue eating into their income in the next year, a European Central Bank survey shows. The Consumer Expectations Survey is used by policymakers for input in their deliberations and was published today for the first time. It showed […]

Growth in services sector picks up amid uplift in new work

Growth in the country’s services sector picked up in July, amid a sharp uplift in new work. The AIB Services PMI rose to 56.3 last month, from 55.6 in June, though this was still below the May reading of 60.2. Readings above 50 indicate overall growth in activity. By comparison, the flash July Services PMI […]

New minimum pay rate for security workers

A new minimum pay rate of €12.50 per hour is to be introduced for workers in the security industry. The new pay scale is scheduled to come into effect on August 29th and will be followed by another increase to €12.90 per hour from February 1st next year. The minimum rate of pay has been […]

€419m half year underlying pre-tax profit reported by Bank of Ireland

Bank of Ireland has reported an underlying profit before tax of €419 million for the first six months of 2022. It was down on the €465 million reported at the same time last year. Net profit of €279 million was down from €341 million for the same period last year. The bank recorded an impairment […]

OPEC+ might have to raise oil output so market doesn’t overheat, Kazakhstan says

OPEC+ might have to raise oil production to avoid market overheating, OPEC+ member Kazakhstan said, as the group of oil producers meets amid US pressure to add barrels to the market while most members have already exhausted their output potential. “We have always said that the preferred price corridor is $60-80 per barrel. Today the […]