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Economic growth averaged 5.2% every year between 2013 and 2018 – CSO

Growth in the Irish economy averaged 5.2% per annum from 2013 to 2018, according to an analysis of new CSO data. In a Special Article for the ESRI, Professor John Fitzgerald describes a measure, called Net National Product, as the best picture of the “economic welfare of those living in Ireland”. For years, the traditional measure of […]

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Ibec calls for end to travel restrictions

Employers’ group Ibec has called for Ireland’s international travel restrictions to be ended and for testing and tracing to be used in place of “ineffective” quarantine measures. People entering Ireland from abroad currently have to quarantine themselves for 14 days upon arrival into the country. Ibec CEO Danny McCoy said there were benefits from quarantine […]

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Consumer sentiment improves for second month after Covid-19 collapse

Consumer sentiment improved in June for the second month in a row, but remains well below levels recorded before the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, a survey showed today.  The KBC Bank consumer sentiment index climbed to 61.6 in June from 52.3 in May, but remains some distance from February’s pre-pandemic reading of 85.2.  In […]

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IMF lowers 2020 growth forecasts again amid Covid-19 crisis

The International Monetary Fund has further lowered its forecasts for global economic growth this year.   In its World Economic Outlook published today, the IMF said economies around the world have been more negatively impacted in the first half of the year than it had anticipated and recovery has been more gradual than previously forecast.   […]

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Global trade to shrink 18.5% in Q2, defying worst fears – WTO

Global trade is expected to drop around 18.5% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2020 in a huge coronavirus-driven plunge which nonetheless could have been much worse, the WTO said today.  “Initial estimates for the second quarter, when the virus and associated lockdown measures affected a large share of the global population, indicate a year-on-year […]

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Consumers spent €600 million using contactless payments in May

The impact of Covid-19 on how consumers are spending is recorded in the latest figures from the banking sector. In May, consumers spent €600 million using contactless payments, the highest monthly figure on record. The figures were compiled by Banking and Payments Federation Ireland. Every day in May, more than €19 million was spent using […]

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Ibec calling for ‘dramatic intervention’ to save businesses

A Government fund aimed at helping small and medium-sized enterprises to reopen and rebuild – as the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions are eased – needs to be at least quadrupled in size, according to employers’ group Ibec. Ibec also said that loans with 100% State-backed credit guarantees and an interest rate holiday of 12 months are required if small […]

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50% of restaurants face closure without emergency grant aid package

A new report warns that up to 50% of restaurants in Ireland face closure unless an emergency grant aid package is issued by the Government.  The latest Restaurants Association of Ireland report also warns that recently promoted staycations or weekends away will not be an option if the tourism and hospitality industry is not supported. […]

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Crucial six months ahead for SME sector

Decisions taken in the next six months will impact the small and medium enterprise sector for the next five years, according to a treasury specialist who works closely with the sector. John Finn, Managing Director of Treasury Solutions – which helps businesses deal with a range of issues including cash flow, lending and currency management […]

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Numbers on Pandemic Unemployment Payment fall again

465,900 people are now receiving the Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment – a drop of 32,800 over the last week. This is according to the latest figures from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection today.  At the peak of the Covid-19 crisis, 598,000 people who had lost their jobs were claiming the Pandemic Unemployment Payment. Since […]

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