Paid sick leave entitlement on track for New Year
An entitlement to paid sick leave is scheduled to come into effect in the New Year after the Tánaiste, Leo Varadkar signed the commencement order. From January, workers will be entitled to up to 3 days of sick leave in a year, paid at 70% of gross salary up to a cap of €110. The […]
Annual retail sales down for sixth month in a row – CSO
New Central Statistics Office figures show that the volume of retail sales rose by 0.7% in October but fell 2.6% on the same month last year. This marked the sixth month of annual decreases in a row. With inflation running at an almost 40-year high of 9.2%, the value of retail sales were 1.2% higher […]
New rights for consumers on faulty goods and services
New laws covering consumer rights around faulty goods and services, digital products and sale pricing take effect from today. The Consumer Rights Act introduces stronger rights of redress for faulty goods, including the straightforward option of cancelling a faulty purchase within 30 days for a full refund. Kevin O’Brien, member of the Competition and Consumer […]
ECB’s Lagarde says we haven’t reached inflation peak
Euro zone inflation has not peaked and the risk is that it will turn out even higher than currently expected, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said today. “We do not see the components or the direction that would lead me to believe that we’ve reached peak inflation and that it’s going to decline in […]
Christmas spend set to match last year – Retail Ireland
Irish households are expected to spend the same amount of money this Christmas as they did last, as the impact of the higher cost of living reins in spending. Retail Ireland estimates that each household will spend €978 more in December than they do in every other month. This adds up to around €5.39 billion […]
More small firms to be offered export help through LEOs
An extension by the Government of the mandate of Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) will mean that thousands more small businesses here will be eligible for export grants. Under the move the LEOs will be able to give assistance directly to companies that have over ten employees which are operating in manufacturing and international traded services. […]
Euro zone credit growth remains brisk despite gloomy outlook
Bank lending to euro zone companies held steady, maintaining the sector’s biggest borrowing binge in over a decade, despite rising interest rates and a looming recession, European Central Bank data showed today. Lending to businesses in the 19-country euro area expanded by 8.9% in October, unchanged on September when it rose to its highest rate […]
Firms can register for energy support scheme tomorrow
The Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS), which will assist businesses with their energy costs during the winter months, will open for registrations tomorrow – Saturday 26 November. The €1.2 billion scheme, which will be administered by Revenue, received approval from the European Commission yesterday. Businesses will be able to use the online system to […]
Busy day expected as Black Friday sales get under way
Originally an American construct, Black Friday was ideal for retailers and consumers in the United States to kick off the busy Christmas shopping period. In Ireland, where Christmas retail campaigns now begin just after Halloween, adopting Black Friday as an aid to sales seemed the obvious thing to do and it is now a fixture […]
ECB will increase rates again in December – Makhlouf
The Governor of the Central Bank has said the European Central Bank will increase interest rates at its meeting next month but he had “an open mind” on what scale that should be. Gabriel Makhlouf was speaking at the publication of the Central Bank’s Financial Stability Report today. The Financial Stability Report is published twice […]
Over €93 billion in tax generated by Govt in 2021, up 21% on 2020 revenue
Total tax revenue collected by the Exchequer in 2021 was €93.3 billion, according to the Central Statistics Office. This was €15.9 billion more or 21% higher than in 2020. Today’s figures are contained in a new CSO publication, which is different to the figures published monthly by the Department of Finance. It includes a wider […]
Growth in mortgage approvals driven by sharp increase in switching activity
The number of first time buyers being approved for a mortgage has dropped to its lowest level since 2019, new figures from Banking and Payments Federation Ireland show. The latest BPFI figures also reveal that the number of people switching mortgages continued to rise in October. Last month, a total of 5,349 mortgages were approved. […]
Govt’s budget strategy strikes ‘appropriate balance’ – IFAC
The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council has said the Government’s budgetary strategy struck the “appropriate balance between protecting vulnerable households and avoiding inflation”. In its Fiscal Assessment Report published today, the budgetary watchdog also warns that if the Government wants to keep within its own spending rule in next year’s Budget, it will either have to […]
Investments looking ‘slightly weaker’ next year – IDA
IDA Ireland is expected to tell the Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment that it has sight of a healthy pipeline of investments for the first half of next year but that it will be slightly weaker than this year. The agency is due to appear before the committee, along with Technology Ireland, to […]
Government hosts major tech sector conference in Dublin
The Government will host a major conference in Dublin focusing on Ireland’s technology sector. The Digital Ireland Conference will hear from speakers including the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Government ministers as well as executives from tech companies such as Meta, Amazon, Google and Microsoft. The one-day event will explore how Ireland can maximise its digital track […]
Wholesale electricity prices down 52% in October – CSO
Wholesale electricity prices fell sharply last month and are back to levels not seen since August of last year, according to the latest Wholesale Price Index from the Central Statistics Office. The price of electricity charged to industrial users fell by 52% in October. This comes after a drop of 27% in electricity prices in […]
Windfall tax on electricity companies set for Cabinet sign off today
The Government is expected to agree to cap the revenues of electricity generating companies which do not use gas. The Cabinet is also set to sign off on a plan to get firms producing fossil fuels to pay a solidarity contribution. After months of consideration, the Government will today finalise plans to tackle windfall gains […]
ESB to increase charges for use of public electric car charging network by up to 52%
The ESB is increasing charges for the use of its public electric vehicle charging points by up to 52%. The changes will take place from December 20th. It is the second time this year that the company has increased the charges. In a notification sent to customers, the company said it understands that the price […]