Author: Practicenet

For all his promises to “promote fairness” in his 2019 Budget, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe’s measures will see some sections of society falling further behind, with pensioners the largest single group to see their position eroded, according to a new study. The Economic and Social Research Institute assessed the impact of the budget changes compared […]

Russian banks are among the heaviest users of Irish special-purpose entities (SPE), a class of unregulated structure used to raise funds. Securitisations – which bundle masses of mortgages, car loans, consumer or business loans into structures that can be borrowed against by banks and others – have become relatively well known since the financial crisis. […]

Almost one in two people are concerned that they are financially unprepared for retirement, according to a savings and investment index from the Bank of Ireland and the Economic and Social Research Institute. The Retirement Optimism reading dropped sharply to 99 in November from 105 in September. It is part of an overall Savings and […]

A quarter of Irish businesses will struggle in terms of digital transformation in meeting evolving customer demands within five years, a newly launched index has shown. Dell Technologies Digital Transformation Index (the DT Index), completed in collaboration with Intel, benchmarks 4,600 businesses across 42 countries across the globe. The study revealed that an overwhelming majority […]

Tax reliefs could be worth thousands a year to workers, but many forget to claim them, or don’t realise they can. Time is running out for workers to claim a valuable tax refund they may be entitled to. There is a four-year limit on how far back you can claim tax refunds – and so […]

Up to 50,000 Irish insurance customers have been left with no guarantee of cover after an underwriting company shut down. Danish company Qudos has gone into liquidation, with payouts on claims being put on pause. It means that Irish customers’ cover with the firm is essentially worthless, and those awaiting payment of a claim from […]

Renters will be able to know what a previous tenant was paying for a room under laws to be brought to Cabinet next week. Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy has indicated he can overcome legal challenges to set up a ‘rent register’. It would allow people looking to rent a room see the average prices in […]

Householders are being bamboozled by bills – with many fearing they are being overcharged, new research has found. A quarter of consumers believe they were overcharged on at least one bill in the last year, research from price comparison site Switcher.ie shows. Most people feel they have no choice but to trust their supplier to […]

EU ‘ready for no-deal Brexit’ if UK sinks deal Irish backstop for UK’s withdrawal deal could last ‘indefinitely’, legal advice states Report also warns of Britain becoming stuck in “protracted and repeating rounds” of negotiations Theresa May said she is listening to concerns on Brexit backstop to find way forward DUP says UK government’s Brexit […]

Europe’s efforts to tax large tech companies were kept on life-support yesterday as France and Germany proposed a final-hour compromise that scales back the broad plan initially envisioned by Paris. Ireland, along with other countries including Sweden, opposes the tax plan and even the watered down proposals will face resistance. The updated proposal is to […]