News

The Taoiseach is in Belfast today to meet politicians and business leaders as efforts continue to break the Stormont impasse over the Northern Ireland Protocol. Micheál Martin will meet party leaders for talks and will host a delegation from the business community. The DUP is refusing to restore power-sharing until its concerns about the protocol […]

Irish SMEs are feeling less optimistic about the future, according to a new report by peer-to-peer lender Linked Finance. Its latest SME Confidence Index for the first quarter of this year, shows that companies are more wary about current business conditions amid the war in Ukraine and rising inflation. The index, which is based on […]

The General Secretary of Fórsa, the country’s largest public sector trade union, has said that improving pay must be his union’s priority. In an address to delegates at Fórsa’s national conference in Killarney, Co Kerry, Kevin Callinan said that runaway inflation was leading to a cost of living crisis. “Our job is to do what […]

A new report has revealed record levels of hiring by Irish businesses but also shows that many are struggling to fill vacancies. According to the latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey, employers of all sizes plan to expand headcount significantly. The study shows that Ireland has recorded the highest net employment outlook in Europe, closely followed […]

Aer Lingus and British Airways owner IAG is to order 50 Boeing 737 MAX jets for delivery between 2023 and 2027, in a vote of confidence in the struggling US planemaker. The order for 25 737-8-200 and 25 737 MAX 10 jets to be used for short-haul operations at IAG-owned airlines is worth $6.25 billion […]

British inflation leapt last month to its highest annual rate since 1982, piling pressure on finance minister Rishi Sunak to step up help for households facing a worsening cost-of-living crisis. UK consumer price inflation hit 9% in April, the Office for National Statistics said. This surpassed even the peaks of the early 1990s recession that […]

A national campaign to address staff shortages in the tourism and hospitality sectors is being launched today by Fáilte Ireland. The €700,000 marketing drive will run across national radio, print, online platforms and social media. The aim of the initiative is to attract more people to jobs in the sector as the tourism industry faces […]

Gas reliably generated more than half the country’s electricity in April as the contribution from wind generation dropped to about one third, new figures show today. The figures from Gas Networks Ireland show that gas generated 52% of Ireland’s electricity in April, up 27% on March’s level of 41% and 37% on the first quarter […]

Drinks group C&C has reported a near 88% increase in revenues for the year to the end of February and said its new fiscal year had started strongly with more price hikes likely on the way. C&C said its revenues jumped by 87.8% to €1.438 billion from €765.8m the previous year. The company also reported […]

The chief executives of the main banks here are to meet representatives of the Central Bank today to discuss plans for the departure of Ulster Bank and KBC from the market. The regulator summoned the remaining banks to a meeting in recent weeks as it called publicly on them to do more to facilitate hundreds […]