Archive for October 2020

Britain has sovereign choices to make on Brexit and they will determine its future access to the EU’s internal market, European Council President Charles Michel has said. He suggested it was now up to the British government to break an impasse on negotiations. “The UK now has an important choice to make on its own future,”…

Senior European Union officials have said the EU is ready to intensify talks towards a deal on future trade ties with the UK after a meeting to discuss the existing Brexit agreement. European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic said that Britain had much work to do to honour commitments on the island of Ireland. He said…

Ireland is ranked in 14th place out of 39 countries in the 2020 Mercer Global Pensions Index despite the country’s underlying sustainability issue.  The Netherlands topped the index again this year despite significant pension reform currently under way there, but Ireland came ahead of countries such as Belgium, the UK, France, Spain and Austria.  Mercer…

Retailers have reacted with deep disappointment to the Government’s decision to close all non-essential retail as part of the move to Level 5. Retail Ireland described it as a serious blow and said there is very real concern that many vulnerable retail businesses will not survive. Business reaction to last night’s move by the Government…

The Tánaiste has indicated that the Government would review the plan to further reduce the Pandemic Unemployment Payment in January if the country is still in the teeth of the pandemic. Speaking during Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil, Leo Varadkar said the moving of Donegal, Monaghan and Cavan to Level 4 was a bitter blow to people there but…

Sterling weakened today as traders worried about the obstacles keeping the European Union and Britain from reaching a Brexit trade deal.  The pound has risen in recent sessions, propelled by a sense that Britain and the EU, whose leaders are meeting today, will secure a trade deal by December 2020, when Britain’s transition period after…

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will today set out his position on the future of the Brexit negotiations. Last night, there was a firm message from EU leaders in Brussels that the UK had to compromise on the key outstanding issues if there was to be an agreement. The UK’s chief negotiator David Frost said…

The supply of new homes here could reach the required 35,000 per annum within years, as a result of initiatives announced in Budget 2021, the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) says. It estimates that 9,000 homes could be built through the new affordability scheme announced by the Government yesterday. These would otherwise not have been constructed…

As Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan move to Level 4 in the Living with Covid-19 framework, business owners, service providers and consumers will be wondering what is allowed to stay open and what must close. Here is a list of all the retailers that the Government has deemed “essential” and can remain open. 1.  Outlets selling food, beverages or newspapers on a…

Taoiseach Micheál Martin will join other EU leaders in Brussels this afternoon for a two-day summit in which they will assess the prospects for a breakthrough in the Brexit negotiations. It will be the first time in nearly a year that EU leaders will have taken part in a detailed discussion about the future EU-UK relationship.…