News

European Union agriculture ministers said negotiators are close to a deal that aims to reform the bloc’s huge farming subsidy programme, protect small farms and bring agriculture in line with environmental goals. The EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) will spend €387 billion – around a third of the EU’s 2021-2027 budget – on payments to […]

Irish consumers do not plan to go wild on their holiday spending in 2021, a new survey from KBC Bank Ireland suggests. One in four plan to spend the same as in 2020 and while slightly more plan to spend more than to cut back (19% compared to 12%), the average outlay overall is likely […]

The Government will begin to look at phasing out financial pandemic supports in the final three months of the year, the Tánaiste has told colleagues. Speaking at a meeting of the Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting tonight, Leo Varadkar indicated supports would remain in place throughout July, August and September. These months will be used […]

The number of residential units submitted for planning permission fell by nearly a third in the first quarter of the year, according to a new report by Deloitte. The level of residential planning applications remained relatively stable at 77, but the level of applications granted dropped 26% year on year. The number of commencement notices […]

A new survey has found that four out of every five adults think the Government should introduce new measures to improve the supply of affordable housing here. The research, carried out by Behaviour and Attitudes on behalf of employers’ group Ibec, also found that a third of respondents would like to be able to buy […]

The numbers of people in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment (PUP) this week has fallen by a further 29,174 to 333,993. In total €102m will be paid out to recipients of the PUP. This is on top of the further 177,969 who were on the Live Register at the end of April, the Department of […]

The Central Bank of Ireland will begin a major review of its mortgage lending rules next month, the first since the measures were introduced in 2015. The review will consider the effectiveness of rules, whether they have achieved their aims and the evolution of the housing and mortgage markets since their inception. It comes amid […]

Gas demand for power generation reached its highest level in six months in April as wind generation fell to its lowest in nine months, new figures show today. Gas Networks Ireland said that over 53% of Ireland’s electricity demand was met by the national gas network, a 4% rise on March. Wind’s contribution to the […]

Guidelines for the reopening of the hospitality sector are expected to be published today. They have been drawn up by Fáilte Ireland ahead of Friday’s Cabinet meeting which will look at a further easing of Covid-19 restrictions in June and July. The guidelines are expected to say that tables will have to be a metre […]

Unemployment could end up exceeding 390,000 when the pandemic ends – a higher rate than at the peak of the last recession, according to the Social Justice Ireland research body. Its latest Employment Monitor also shows that over a fifth of people whose jobs have been impacted by Covid-19 do not expect to return to […]