News

The euro zone’s recovery ran out of steam midway through the third quarter, with gauges of activity pointing to contractions in Italy and Spain. While manufacturing output rose markedly in August, the larger services sector saw only marginal growth, according to an IHS Markit report. Orders increased at a slower pace, job cuts continued and […]

The loss of international tourists to Ireland is costing the tourism and hospitality sector €27m a day. That’s according to the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC) which says 200,000 jobs are at risk if the Government does not take action to support the industry. “Tourism is facing an existential crisis and Government must listen to […]

The public finances recorded a deficit of €9.5bn at the end of August according to the latest Exchequer Returns.  This compares to a deficit of €625m recorded at the same point last year. The €8.8bn deterioration is largely due to increases in government spending.  The increase in spending is concentrated in the departments of Health and Employment Affairs […]

ctivity in the services sector grew for the second month in a row in August, and at a slightly faster pace despite repeatedly stalled moves to fully reopen the economy.  Ireland has opted for a more cautious exit from its coronovirus lockdown and has paused the fourth and final stage of its plan since July, […]

Eurozone inflation turned negative last month for the first time since May 2016, raising chances that the European Central Bank will have to inject yet more stimulus to generate price growth which has undershot its target for over seven years. Annual inflation in the 19 countries sharing the euro fell to minus 0.2pc in August […]

The pace of the recovery of the Irish economy from Covid-19 restrictions slowed substantially in August. That’s according to stockbroker Davy which said the situation is indicted by real-time data for the month. In a note to investors, chief economist Conall MacCoille said the Government’s decision to delay the phase four re-opening of the economy […]

As the new Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme goes live today, the Revenue Commissioners has confirmed that more than 22,100 employers have registered for the scheme.  To qualify for the scheme, employers must have tax clearance showing their taxes are in order. The Revenue Commissioners says there have been more than 16,800 applications for tax clearance since 17 […]

Directors that control more than 15pc of a business can now claim the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS). This follows an update from the Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe. From tomorrow EWSS will replace the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme. The subsidy, which is based on an employees gross weekly wage, can be claimed by directors […]

Manufacturing activity kept growing last month but at a slower pace than in July amid weakening demand and resumed job cuts. The monthly purchasing managers’ index (PMI) produced by IHS Markit for AIB found that business conditions for manufacturers “continued to improve in August but the recovery lost momentum”. The headline PMI score declined from […]

The Government’s new Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme came into effect at midnight, and will continue to provide payroll support until the end of March 2021. It will replace the current Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme, which is underpinning the wages of almost 370,000 employees. The TWSS, which was launched last March, assisted many businesses to survive […]