Author: splash

The economy will “bounce back” sooner than many people think, the Tánaiste has told the Dáil, but he added that the pandemic will leave “many scars” including lost jobs and livelihoods as well as lost lives.  The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment said new financial supports will be put in place in the second […]

Ulster Bank has announced a phased withdrawal from the Republic of Ireland over the coming years that will be managed in an “orderly and considered manner”.  The bank, which is owned by UK lender NatWest, has 1.1 million customers here, along with 2,800 staff in 88 branches around the country.  Its Northern Ireland unit, which also […]

Bank of Ireland is to refund tens of thousands of its mortgage customers after it discovered that it had overcharged them. Around 35,000 accounts were impacted by the error that arose when repayments were miscalculated by the lender. “This meant that they were paying on average 80c extra each month and the average total reimbursement […]

Irish online retail sales grew by 159% in 2020, according to new figures from digital agency Wolfgang Digital, up from average annual growth of 32% between 2017 and 2019. Wolfgang said the trend was revealed after analysis of over €0.5 billion of online spend, an estimated 7% of the total Irish e-commerce market size. Today’s […]

European car registrations dropped in January, industry data showed today, as measures to restrict a second coronavirus wave hit sales in the region’s largest markets.  New car registrations dropped by 25.7% year-on-year to 842,835 vehicles in the European Union, Britain and the countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). This is according to figures from […]

The Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe has said the public finances are still within the overall budget published last October. However, he said if current programmes to support incomes and businesses during Covid-19 are extended “well into 2021” then “much or all” of the contingency funds set aside will be used up. The Minister said decisions will be […]

Job postings on Indeed Ireland were down 24% in early February compared with the same time last year, according to new research from the jobs website. However, despite the ongoing lockdown, the figures show that listings continue to grow and have not returned to the low of -54% last June. The study reveals growth right across […]

The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has confirmed that the various pandemic supports will be extended beyond the end of March. Speaking on RTÉ’s News at One, Micheal McGrath said the Government will set out its new plan next week as regards Covid-19 and “a line of sight” for people, businesses and households in relation to the […]

The banking industry’s representative association, Banking and Payments Federation Ireland, has published a report claiming Irish banks are forced to hold three times the amount of capital as its European counterparts. The federation (BPFI) says this is adding to the cost of lending and mortgages here. When a bank makes a loan or sells a mortgage […]