News

The design and calibration of the mortgage lending rules need to be amended, an organisation representing the property industry here has argued. Property Industry Ireland (PII) claimed the current measures are outdated and need to be changed to reflect buyers’ what a household can afford to spend, not what their income is. The argument is […]

The Government is to extend the Enhanced Illness Benefit (EIB), paid at €350 per week, until the end of June. This scheme is designed to support people who are diagnosed with Covid-19 or who need to self-isolate in line with HSE guidelines or the advice of a GP. In general, EIB is paid for up […]

The Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme rates will be cut from today, but not for those companies impacted by Covid restrictions introduced in December. The subsidy rates will fall from a range of €203 – €350 a week to €151.50 – €203 a week depending on an employee’s salary. According to provisional statistics published by Revenue […]

The manufacturing sector continued to grow in January, according to the latest AIB Purchasing Managers Index (PMI). The headline index picked up to 59.4 in January, from December’s nine-month low of 58.3. Readings above 50 indicate overall rises in activity. The index remains at an elevated level historically, with the January reading higher than in […]

New guidance for workplaces has been published to reflect the recent relaxation of most public health measures. The Transitional Protocol eases many requirements on businesses but says good practices should be maintained. It is ten days since the Government announced the relaxation of most public health measures, and following engagement with business and unions it […]

Record euro area inflation rates mean price pressures will top the agenda for European Central Bank policymakers meeting on Thursday. No immediate policy action is expected since the ECB in December laid out plans to wind up its €1.85 trillion pandemic stimulus scheme by the end of March. But price pressures remain strong and markets […]

Half of firms are planning to raise basic pay for employees by an average of 4% this year, according to a survey of businesses and consumers by Bank of Ireland. A similar proportion of workers are expecting a pay rise of on average 3%, the bank’s Economic Pulse for January shows. It comes against the […]

Rogue operators could face a fine of €10 million or 10% of worldwide turnover for breaches of competition law, under a new law published today. The Competition (Amendment) Bill 2022 will give more powers to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and the Commission for Communications Regulation. It will enhance the ability of the CCPC […]

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has launched a new Money Tools campaign which aims to provide consumers with information on how to compare and switch various financial services including mortgages, current accounts and credit cards. The CCPC Money Tools allows consumers to quickly and easily compare features, including maintenance fees, charges and interest rates, […]

Raising capital and recruiting and retaining staff are the biggest challenges facing Irish tech start-ups, according to the findings of a survey carried out by Scale Ireland. 230 start-up founders and CEOs contributed to the survey, which aims to gauge the sentiment of entrepreneurs in the sector. It looks at key issues including the economy, […]