News

The retirement model for Ireland is changing after various false starts – a change that is long overdue. A sustainable retirement system with feasible dependency ratios requires that workers save more and retire later. We won’t get a perfect system overnight, so having one that’s “good enough”, at least to start, is an important priority. […]

Are electric scooters good or bad for Irish cities? Because they’re certainly getting more common. My walk to work each day takes me through the inner city areas of Ballybough and the North Strand. Both have had their share of trouble in recent years and are regarded as ‘tough’ neighbourhoods. But now I see young […]

September in the European corporate debt market is often a time of much rejoicing. The dearth of activity in August is replaced by a flood of issuance, tightening spreads, and a general feeling that bonds are back. Not this time. This August has been particularly miserable, and almost all of the factors that made it […]

Each year, at about this time, there is a lot of speculation about the 9pc tourism VAT rate and whether it will be retained in October’s Budget to be delivered by Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe. Each year, at about this time, there is a lot of speculation about the 9pc tourism VAT rate and whether […]

Consumers are turning more to debit cards and contactless payments, according to the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI). In the past three years, the number of debit-card transactions has increased rapidly in Ireland, the CBI said in its latest quarterly bulletin. There is also some tentative evidence to suggest that the increase in their use […]

The vast majority of Irish businesses still do not have a Brexit plan in place, despite 70pc of firms expecting the UK’s departure from the EU to have a negative impact on Ireland’s economy. AIB’s Brexit Sentiment index for the second quarter found that the manufacturing, retail and tourism sectors here were the most negative […]

In common with many people in this country, both my parents worked in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s. My late father spent 10 years as a radio officer in the British merchant navy. For this he got a good defined benefit pension when he hit 65. He was also entitled to a British state […]

THE monthly cost of renting a home has hit an all-time high, shooting up by an average €200 in some parts of the capital in just the space of a year New figures from Daft.ie today lay bare the dilemma facing families who would be better off financially if they bought a home. But difficulties […]

The country’s main banks have stopped using a State fund set up to channel low cost finance to SMEs, because lenders can access cheap money in their own right, the Irish Independent has learned. The Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) was set up to ensure favourable loan rates reached SMEs, by funnelling State-sourced money […]

Spend on digital advertising has overtaken that of television in the United States for the first time. Last year, internet advertising revenues in the United States hit $88bn (€77bn), an increase of 21pc on the previous year, according to the latest ‘Internet Advertising Revenue’ report from professional services firm PwC and the Interactive Advertising Bureau […]