Author: Practicenet

Borrowers availing of the Government’s Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan (RIHL) are paying over the odds for mortgage protection insurance, making the loans far more expensive than originally thought. One borrower, who didn’t wish to be named, said the high premium was making the loan – designed to help lower-­paid workers – unaffordable for him and […]

The most significant new element in the Brexit Omnibus Bill published by the Government this morning is a change to VAT law which will allow companies importing from the UK to continue to pay VAT in the same way they do now. This change will be of considerable benefit to the many Small and Medium […]

AIB has backed brave, while Bank of Ireland has sought to tug on the heartstrings of families. Permanent TSB has urged its customers to “keep going” and KBC is battling to ensure that everyone knows how easy it is to join them. Banks have forever invested in ad campaigns. You can almost track the economic […]

Having more money does not make you happier, according to figures released earlier this month from the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS). They show people there have become more anxious in recent years and have not become happier – despite seeing big jumps in disposable income and wealth. “Despite high levels of employment, rising […]

Sterling fell slightly today after a UK government source poured cold water on the prospect of an imminent Brexit deal, causing the pound to shed earlier gains. Hopes that Prime Minister Theresa May can secure some changes to her Brexit withdrawal deal from Brussels, and then get the tweaked agreement through the British parliament, have […]

Groups representing retailers in Ireland, Northern Ireland and Britain have issued a strong warning that a no-deal Brexit will lead to reduced availability of some goods. The joint statement from the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium, Retail Ireland and British Retail Consortium also cautions that if Britain crashes out of the EU on 29 March, food […]

The former president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, has said that despite Brexit, the opportunities for Irish businesses to grow within Europe are infinite. Speaking in Dublin today, Herman Van Rompuy said that regulatory certainty and standards provided by EU frameworks continue to facilitate trade and help businesses to sell into a wide […]

The governments of Ireland and Britain have guaranteed the continued payment of state pensions, child benefit and other social welfare payments in the event of the UK crashing out of the EU without a deal. Thousands of people living here get pensions and other payments from Britain, while Ireland also pays people who live in […]

There’s been a surge in the number of companies here applying to Revenue to get the necessary documentation for trading with UK firms following Brexit. Revenue said over three times more companies applied in the month of February than in January for Economic Operators Registration and Identification (EORI) numbers. The EORI is the minimum requirement […]

Irish small and medium enterprises (SMEs) pay on average three percentage points more interest on loans than the European Union average on amounts up to €250,000. The introduction of Government-backed risk-sharing schemes, such as the Brexit Loan Scheme (where interest is capped at 4pc), are helping to address the difference, according to the Strategic Banking […]