Author: splash

A bill that seeks to abolish age-based sub-minimum pay rates for younger workers will be discussed today by the Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Current legislation allows for lower or sub-minimum rates for people aged under 20. The minimum wage for those aged 19 is 90% of the prevailing rate, for those aged […]

The Tánaiste has said the energy credit which will be announced in the budget will be paid to households before the end of the year. With Budget 2025 now less than two weeks away, Micheál Martin is expected to hold further discussions on its overall shape with the Government party leaders tonight. However, he said […]

The European Central Bank should keep cutting interest rates gradually, its chief economist said today, after policymakers reduced borrowing costs last week for the second time this year. “A gradual approach to dialling back restrictiveness will be appropriate if the incoming data are in line with the baseline projection,” Philip Lane said in a speech […]

New figures from Kantar today show that take-home grocery sales increased by 5.4% in the four weeks to September 1 as Irish households prepared for the new school year. Shopping frequency increased by 0.7% in September, along with an increase in average prices of 2.4%, while volumes per trip were also up slightly by 0.4% […]

The national commercial vacancy rate hit a new high of 14.4% in June, new data shows. 30,246 commercial units were classified as vacant across the country, according to the latest GeoDirectory report. The analysis, prepared by EY, found that the commercial vacancy rate increased in 14 out of 26 counties surveyed. “While the national commercial […]

A developer has told a conference there should be an exemption from the Government’s planned zone land tax for companies that are working on developing sites. The Cabinet is introducing a 3% annual levy to discourage speculators from hoarding land that can be used for housing. Senior managing director of US group Hines Brian Moran […]

Ahead of Budget 2025 in October, here are eight changes to look out for: 1. Inheritance tax At present if somebody inherits from a parent, they pay 33% capital acquisition tax on everything above 335,000. This threshold will almost certainly rise to €400,000. The €65,000 increase will be welcomed by many in the context of […]

A multi-million euro investment package has been announced to boost tourism and develop new visitor attractions on two islands. Fáilte Ireland and Údarás na Gaeltachta will work in conjunction with comharchumann (community cooperatives) on Inis Mór and Cléire to bring the projects to fruition. It is part of an initiative to encourage Gaeltacht visits and […]

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the annual rate of inflation eased to 1.7% in August from an annual rate of 2.2% in July. The CSO said this is the first time since June 2021 that its official measure of annual inflation has been below 2%. Today’s figures show that the most […]

The European Central Bank cut interest rates again as euro zone inflation slows and economic growth falters, but provided no substantial clues to its next step, even as investors bet on steady policy easing in the months ahead. The ECB lowered its deposit rate by 25 basis points to 3.5% in a widely expected move, […]