Category: Syndicated

Housing shortage to drive up prices by 15pc over the next three years

House prices are set to rise by 15pc over the next three years, a survey conducted by the Central Bank has found. The survey of estate agents, auctioneers, economists and surveyors indicates prices will rise by eight per cent nationally this year. Dublin prices are set to rise by 10pc, the property professionals told the […]

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A design for life: Irish business star Chupi chases jewellery dream

‘Start small and make your mistakes while no one is watching’ – Chupi Chupi Sweetman, the Irish designer behind the jewellery brand ‘Chupi’ has been designing and creating since she got her first Singer sewing machine at the age of five. Now 32 she says that key to her success has been starting small and […]

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E-commerce transactions now make up almost half of credit card spending

E-commerce now accounts for 30pc of debit card point of sale transactions and almost one in two credit card purchases, according to the latest data from the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI). Overall debit card point of sale transactions in Ireland were worth €2.9bn in June 2017, 16pc higher than the same month in 2016, […]

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Budget cuts preventing investment in tech

Eight in ten IT departments in Ireland are being held back from making investments in new technologies due to budget cuts, according to research from Sungard Availability Services. This figure is considerably higher than their counterparts in other countries including the UK and Canada, where 61pc said that they have been held back from making […]

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Property market ‘at middle stage of upturn’

The two-tiered nature of Ireland’s economic recovery has been highlighted again in a new commercial property report. The latest quarterly commercial property monitor from the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) found that only half of members nationally believe that the property market is at the middle stage of an upturn. But that figure is […]

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Four tips to save money on the cost of running your car

The average cost of running a car has fallen by €178.05 or 1.6pc on the same figure for last year, according to the latest AA’s calculations, bring the cost of running a family car for a year to €10,671.37. Despite a minor increase of 0.46pc in the cost of fuel, recent CSO data highlighting a […]

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Drop ‘Pa$$word123’: ‘Everything you know about ‘safe’ passwords is wrong

It has become the bane of many office workers’ existences: being forced to use complicated and difficult-to-remember passwords laden with random numbers and symbols. But the man who originally came up with the rules on safe passwords has admitted that his guidance was totally wrong, 14 years after it was first published. Bill Burr wrote […]

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Irish firms increase cyber security after WannaCry attack

Almost three in four Irish companies have made changes to their IT security as a direct result of the WannaCry ransomware incident, according to a survey by IT solutions distributor DataSolutions. The research, carried out among 112 senior IT professionals and decision-makers, also found that one-fifth of senior IT decision-makers in Ireland would pay up […]

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Revealed: How many secured approval for mortgage – but couldn’t find a home to buy

A big gap has opened up between the numbers getting approved to take out a mortgage and those who end up drawing one down. Experts said this reflects the chronic shortage of properties for sale. Banking and Payments Federation figures show that more than 8,000 people were approved for a mortgage than actually drew one […]

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Household gross disposable income up slightly

Household disposable income increased fractionally in the first three months of this year compared with the end of 2016, official data shows. The seasonally adjusted quarterly gross disposable income of households and non-profit organisations increased by 0.5pc, or €128m, to €24.911bn, figures from the Central Statistics Office show. Gross savings for the total economy increased […]

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