News

The Tax Strategy Group paper on income tax has examined the issue of refundable tax credits. This is when those on low incomes do not earn enough to use up all of their available tax credits. A change would allow these taxpayers to receive the value of the unused credits. The Tax Strategy Group is […]

Hairdressers and restaurant owners have warned that if the reduced 9% VAT rate increases back to 13.5% again as planned at the end of August, it will put some out of businesses. In February the Government extended the 9% VAT rate further until September 1 as part of measures to assist those in the tourism, […]

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that Irish unadjusted exports of goods decreased by €1.2 billion to €16.7 billion in May compared to the same time last year. When seasonally adjusted, exports of goods fell by more than €400m in May from the previous month. Exports of medical and pharmaceutical products decreased by […]

Fuel prices remained stable in July and are virtually unchanged compared to June, the latest AA fuel prices survey shows. The average petrol price is €1.65 in July, the same as in June, with the average price for diesel rising by a marginal two cents to hit €1.55. “Following the duty increases last month, we […]

Job vacancies fell by 25% in the second quarter of the year, on an annual basis, according to the latest Jobs Index from hiring platform IrishJobs. The report finds that the fall is linked to the post-Covid hiring surge that occurred in 2022. On a quarterly basis job vacancies fell by 4% and are now […]

On paper, the job of a Central Bank Governing Council sounds fairly straight forward. Maintain price stability and ensure the stability of the financial system. The guiding principle for the first is to keep the annual rate of consumer price increases to around 2%. Sounds achievable, but that is much easier said than done, as […]

The Irish economy, as measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP), contracted by 2.8% in the first three months of the year, updated data from the Central Statistics Office has found. Last month, early data from the CSO suggested that GDP between January and March had fallen by 4.6%. That, coupled with a downward revision to […]

A new survey published today shows that despite the global economic challenges, Ireland’s growth forecast has emerged strongly. The latest Accenture/S&P Global Ireland Business Outlook survey show a sustained sense of optimism among Irish private sector companies, buoyed by expected improvements in export performance. The survey reveals that receding energy and raw material price pressures […]

The annual rate of inflation stood at 6.1% in June, down from 6.6% in the 12 months to the end of May, new figures from the Central Statistics Office show. However, the data also shows that consumer prices rose by 0.8% between May and June. Core inflation, which excludes energy and unprocessed foods, rose to […]

Ibec has warned that Ireland is currently losing out on business opportunities because of constraints in capacity in the economy, including around housing. The employers’ organisation claims the Government must focus on creating greater economic capacity in October’s budget, through both expanding infrastructure and boosting social investment. Launching Ibec’s pre-budget submission, Executive Director of Lobbying […]