News

The Central Bank has been able to provide assurances that the financial system as a whole was resilient enough to withstand a hard Brexit and that the most material ‘cliff-edge’ financial stability risks arising from Brexit “have been largely mitigated”. Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said he has met with top officials from the National Treasury […]

Large numbers of people who have worked in Britain are entitled to a tax refund, but many are unaware of it. Tax specialists Taxback.com said the rebates could be worth more than €1,000. An estimated one in three Irish people who have worked in the UK are entitled to a tax rebate. But many are […]

A new survey claims that most Irish broadband users are “not satisfied” with their broadband. The Coyne Research poll of 1,000 people, commissioned by Imagine Communications, claims that over 60pc of rural dwellers believe faster broadband “would significantly enhance their quality of life” and that 42pc “feel their community has been let down by the […]

The State’s proposed new white-collar crime agency, the Corporate Enforcement Authority, will have beefed-up powers of search and entry, allowing it to access an investigated company’s digital records “wherever they are held”. The proposed new powers will, for example, allow white-collar crime investigators to use their own computers to log in to, and download, an […]

The State loses approximately €21.4 billion in revenue each year in what are known as “tax expenditures”. These include the wide range of reliefs and reductions allowable to individuals and families under income tax and other taxes, but also the generous tax shelters allowed to firms and foreign executives domiciled here. University College Dublin economist […]

A leading indicator for the economy recorded its slowest pace of growth since May 2013 in a warning sign ahead of Britain’s exit from the European Union. The AIB Ireland Composite Purchasing Managers Index headline reading dropped to 54.2 at the start of 2019, down from 56.3 in December. While a reading over 50 still […]

Ireland’s robust economic performance faces an ‘existential threat’ from a no-deal Brexit, the stockbroking firm warned in its latest quarterly ‘health check’ on the Irish economy. “We assume that the UK will leave the EU in an orderly manner on March 29, or more likely later, but the risks have risen over recent weeks of […]

With mortgage approvals for first-time buyers down in December and new housing output in Dublin falling, the outlook for the housing market in 2019 is uncertain. The Irish banks approved 2,908 new mortgages in December 2018 with a total value of €656m. There was an almost 6pc increase in the number of new mortgages approved […]

Three out of four Irish people think automation and robots will cause unemployment, a new survey claims. However, the iReach poll also says that most people believe robots will be good for the economy, estimating that the jobs under threat may exclude their own. The poll of 1,000 people found that just 16pc see “no […]

The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) may take equity stakes in Irish businesses to help them overcome Brexit, and is willing to inject more than €10m into individual companies. Ireland’s sovereign wealth fund said it would use its capital to support companies with UK exposure. Isif director Eugene O’Callaghan said the fund would be more […]