News

Irish consumers are tapping their payment cards more than ever. Last December spending using contactless payments topped €1 billion for the first time ever. In the last three months of last year, contactless payments increased 60% year on year, partly due to the easing of Covid-19 restrictions and also Christmas spending. People are not only tapping […]

The Minister for Finance has said there will be no sudden withdrawal of the fiscal stimulus measures put in place across Europe to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. Addressing the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs in his role as President of the Eurogroup, Paschal Donohoe said it is important that finance ministers […]

The quantity of goods passing through Irish ports from the UK remains around half of what it was this time last year, nearly four weeks after the Brexit transition period came to an end.  At a briefing at Dublin Port this afternoon, officials from a range of state departments and agencies said volumes remained below […]

A couple earning average wages still cannot afford even the cheapest new apartments in Dublin, according to a study. The Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) also found most types of apartments are not economically viable for developers to build for sale. The society’s report found that the situation has improved since its previous study […]

A multi-millionaire Australian property mogul controversially suggested a few years ago that if young people wanted to buy a house, they should stop buying avocado toast and expensive coffee. “When I was trying to buy my first home, I wasn’t buying smashed avocado for AU$19 (€12) and four coffees at AU$4 (€2.55) each,” Tim Gurner, […]

The interest rates on several State savings schemes are to be reduced, the National Treasury Management Agency has announced. The changes will also impact the prize bond fund, which has been growing in popularity. Under the changes, the prize fund allocated to the bonds is to be cut, which will reduce the amount of prize […]

The unleashing of €13 billion in household savings and significant pent-up demand will lead to a surge in consumer spending that will fuel a 5% growth in core domestic demand this year, new research from stockbroker Goodbody says. In his latest economic forecast, chief economist Dermot O’Leary predicts that domestic demand will fall between January and […]

A plan by the main banks here to develop a person to person money transfer app to rival Revolut and N26 has been dealt an early set back, after the competition regulator rejected its application for clearance due to insufficient information. Two weeks ago AIB, Bank of Ireland, KBC Bank Ireland and Permanent TSB applied […]

Salaries for in-demand and emerging niche skill sets will increase by up to 5% this year, according to the Morgan McKinley Irish Salary Guide. The new guide shows that most salaries are likely to remain flat throughout 2021. Overall, in 2020, the market for professional talent was split 45% permanent and 55% temporary. According to Morgan McKinley, this […]

The Central Bank has forecast that growth in the economy will pick up in the second half of this year, if there is a successful roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccination programme. It also warns, however, that despite the trade deal struck between the EU and the UK, barriers to trade and the movement of people […]