News

Skills shortage, talent retention among key challenges for employers

Skills shortages and the retention of talent remain among the key challenges facing organisations, a survey of employers conducted by recruitment specialists, Hays Ireland, has concluded. Almost all of the firms surveyed – 94% – said they had faced skills shortages in 2023, up slightly from the 92% who gave the same response last year. […]

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Construction sector activity slows for fourth month

Activity in the construction sector in Ireland slowed further last month. It is the fourth month in a row that activity has fallen. According to the BNP Paribas Real Estate Ireland Construction Total Activity Index, the pace of decline was solid and faster than that seen in September. A further reduction in activity on housing […]

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Rents rising nationally but marked slowdown in Dublin

Rents being sought for properties on the open market nationally are continuing to increase, but there has been a continued slowdown in the rate of increase in Dublin, according to the latest daft.ie Rental Report. Rents on the open market are now 8% higher that they were a year ago, with the average market rent […]

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Annual production in manufacturing industries sinks 23% in Q3 – CSO

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that production in manufacturing industries decreased by 22% in the third quarter of this year compared to the same second quarter. But the CSO said that production in manufacturing industries rose by 1.3% in September compared with August. Meanwhile, on an annual basis, production in manufacturing industries […]

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DPC warned proposed new structures could slow inquiries

The Data Protection Commission (DPC) has warned the Government that new proposed structures for the organisation could slow down the pace of major data protection inquiries involving high-tech companies and other multinationals. In a pre-budget submission, the DPC said there “simply aren’t enough people” if plans for a new system of governance involving multiple committees […]

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US Fed could hike rates again if ‘appropriate’ – Powell

The US Federal Reserve is prepared, if needed, to increase interest rates further in order to bring inflation down to its long-term 2% target, Fed Chair Jerome Powell has said. “We know that ongoing progress toward our 2% goal is not assured: Inflation has given us a few head fakes,” Powell told a conference in […]

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‘Cautious optimism’ among Irish firms about their outlook – Eurochambers

A slight improvement in business sentiment has been captured in the latest European Economic Survey carried out on behalf of Eurochambres, of which Chambers Ireland is a member. The outlook among businesses in Ireland for the year ahead has been described as one of “cautious optimism” with the majority of firms putting the emphasis on […]

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Near 50% jump in value of car loans – BPFI

There has been a surge in the volume and value of car loans being issued here, according to the latest Personal Loans Report from Banking and Payments Federation Ireland. The report, which covers the three month period to the end of June, captured a year on year increase of 36% in the volume of car […]

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Underlying inflation progress not enough, says ECB’s Lane

The European Central Bank is seeing some progress in its efforts to push down underlying inflation but this is not yet enough, ECB chief economist Philip Lane told a conference in Riga today. Professor Lane said he does not take a lot of comfort from the recent rapid fall in overall inflation because this is […]

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Underlying inflation progress not enough, says ECB’s Lane

The European Central Bank is seeing some progress in its efforts to push down underlying inflation but this is not yet enough, ECB chief economist Philip Lane told a conference in Riga today. Professor Lane said he does not take a lot of comfort from the recent rapid fall in overall inflation because this is […]

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