Electric Ireland to increase gas and electricity prices again
Electric Ireland has announced further increases to its residential electricity and gas bills from 1 October after increasing them in August. The company said its electricity bills will increase by 26.7% and residential gas bills by 37.5% from next month. Electric Ireland said the price hikes were due to the unprecedented increases in international energy […]
Revenue refuses to recognise workers rent as an expense
A worker forced to work from home during the Covid-19 pandemic has failed in his bid to have part of his accommodation rental bill recognised as an expense. In January of last year, the worker filed an Income Tax return and sought to have €587 of the rental cost of his accommodation treated as an […]
Easing cost pressures give manufacturers a little breathing room – PMI
The pace of increase in input and output costs for manufacturers here eased to the lowest level in months in August, offering some slight relief to firms who could only eke out modest growth overall. The AIB S&P Global manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 51.1 in August from 51.8 in July, the lowest […]
Ireland’s CAP plan approved by European Commission
The European Commission has approved Ireland’s plan for the implementation of the new Common Agriculture Policy that comes into affect in 2023. The plan had to be resubmitted to the Commission earlier this month after thef irst version was rejected last March. Among the reasons cited by the Commission at the time was the need […]
PrepayPower gas and electricity prices to increase in October
Energy provider PrepayPower has said that it will increase it gas and electricity prices from 1 October. Electricity prices are to rise by 19%, while gas prices will increase by 29%. The increases will add an additional €339 to the average electricity bill and €428 to the average gas bill. The company, which has 170,000 […]
Euro zone inflation rate hits new record high of 9.1%
Euro zone inflation rose to another record high this month, beating expectations and solidifying the case for further big European Central Bank rate hikes even before prices peak near the turn of the year. Consumer price growth in the 19 countries sharing the euro currency rose to 9.1% in August from 8.9% a month earlier. […]
Competition watchdog concerned by impending concentration levels in banking market
The competition watchdog has said it is concerned by the impending increase in the concentration levels of the retail banking sector in Ireland as a result of the exits of KBC Bank Ireland and Ulster Bank. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) said that while non-bank lenders have brought some new products to the […]
Unemployment rate back up to 4.3% in August – CSO
New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the unemployment rate rose slightly in August, rising to 4.3% from the 21-year low of 4.2% a month earlier. The jobless rate has bounced up and down on a monthly basis this year but the falls have been greater in a tightening labour market and reduced […]
Firms advised to act early on moving banks
Businesses are being advised to act early if they need to establish new banking arrangements in the months ahead. With Ulster Bank and KBC Bank Ireland leaving the market here, thousands of individuals and businesses are being given six months to close their accounts with the departing banks and move their custom to another institution. […]
Oireachtas committee to hold energy security hearing
The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action will hold a hearing today on energy security amid growing concern over the supply of electricity. Committee Cathaoirleach Green Party TD Brian Leddin said there are now “…fears of supply restrictions and even blackouts this winter”. The energy crisis in Europe has intensified in recent weeks, […]
Pro Football Focus to create Irish jobs
US football analytics company Pro Football Focus (PFF) has announced its expansion into Europe with a diversification of its core products to service the US and European soccer market with its first club-focused product set to launch next month. The expansion is expected to create 21 remote full time and 175 seasonal analyst roles in […]
Slight improvement in confidence indicators but from very low base – Bank of Ireland
There was a slight improvement in confidence among consumers and businesses in August, according to the latest Economic Pulse from Bank of Ireland. However, the uplift in mood was from a very low base and the overall Pulse reading sits at well below where it was last year. Consumer confidence remains subdued at just under […]
Cost of living crisis hitting prospective home buyers
Half of prospective home buyers say the rise in the cost of living has affected their ability to buy a property, according to new research by property website MyHome.ie. The survey of almost 3,000 people carried out in August shows that inflation is having a significant effect on the homebuying, rental and home renovation markets. […]
Public sector pay talks set to resume at WRC
Public sector pay talks are due to resume today at the Workplace Relations Commission. Talks ended without agreement in June after unions and staff associations rejected a 5% pay increase over two years saying it fell far short of inflation. The Government defended the offer saying that the increases would come on top of a […]
Mortgage approvals drop, switching activity rises
The number of mortgages approved in July fell by almost 12% when compared to the previous month, according to new figures from Banking and Payments Federation Ireland. A total of 5,255 mortgages were approved last month. While this is down on the previous month, approvals were still up 4.4% on the same month last year. […]
Storage will be key to Ireland’s energy security and transition
On a flat piece of land in west Dublin, 96 black container like structures sit in perfectly straight rows. A persistent hum is the only indicator of the electronic equipment packed inside. Each cube is a battery storage unit, full of small lithium-ion batteries, just like the ones you find in your mobile phone. The […]
Not a certainty that blackouts can be avoided – ESRI
A senior research officer with the ESRI has said nobody can say for certain that power blackouts can be avoided this winter, adding that if there are to be interruptions to demand, they will certainly happen at peak times. Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Dr Muireann Lynch said supply on the system has been the […]
National commercial vacancy rate up slightly to 13.9%
The commercial vacancy rate across the country reached 13.9% in the second quarter of this year, up 0.25% on the same period last year. This is the highest level recorded by GeoDirectory since it began reporting on the rates in 2013. There were 29,241 vacant commercial units recorded across Ireland in the second quarter, a […]