News

2.4 million contactless payments were made every day in June of this year, the highest daily figure on record. New data from the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland shows that 73 million contactless payments were made in June, to the value of more than €1.2 billion. This means that June saw the largest daily figure […]

Lenders in the Irish market continued to charge among the highest interest rates on mortgages in June. According to figures from the Central Bank, the average rate on new agreements was 2.74% in the month. That was down 5 basis points from the average in June of 2020 when it stood at just below 2.8%. […]

Irish household net worth reached a record high of €883bn in the first quarter of this year due to an increase in savings and deposits, according to new data from the Central Bank. The figures show that household savings increased by €1.5bn in the first three months to stand at €7.4bn for the quarter. The […]

The number of people in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment this week stood at 157,712 – a drop of around 5,700 on last week. The Department of Social Protection said the weekly payment amounted to €46.7 million. It was the lowest number receiving the payment since the pandemic began with the greatest reduction observed […]

A group representing the home care sector has said it is facing a recruitment crisis and has called on the Government to allow for the hiring of workers from non-EU countries as a matter of urgency. Home and Community Care Ireland said its members are close to reaching full capacity and cannot recruit enough staff […]

The high proportion of tax revenue coming from corporation tax represents “a significant risk to the public finances,” according to a report published by the Department of Finance today. Last year, corporation tax accounted for 20% of tax revenues compared to an average 12% a decade ago. €11.8 billion was collected in corporation tax last […]

Average rents for residential properties rose by 5.6% nationally between April and June, according to the latest quarterly rental report from the website Daft.ie. The report shows rents rising faster outside Dublin and a record low number of properties available for rent. The Daft.ie rental report for the second quarter of this year shows the […]

The monthly unemployment rate in July was 6.5%, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office. When those on the Pandemic Unemployment Payment are included, the Covid-adjusted unemployment rate was 13.5%. This compares to a Covid-adjusted rate of 16.2% and a traditional unemployment rate of 6.7% in June. 28.6% of those unemployed under […]

€30.6 billion was spent on social welfare payments last year, an increase of 46% compared to 2019 – according to new figures from the Department of Social Protection. A new report published today sets out data relating to the expenditure, recipients and beneficiaries of the schemes administered by the department, including the schemes introduced as […]

There was a substantial increase in construction activity once again in July, according to the latest Construction Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) from Ulster Bank. While the index which tracks changes in total construction activity dropped from 65 in June to 62.8 in July, it still suggests a substantial increase in activity last month. Index readings […]