Archive for October 2020

Jobs were always going to be centre stage in Budget 2021 – not just creating new ones, but clinging on desperately to the imperiled ones that already exist. The figures cited by Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe in his budget speech were stark. The Government is forecasting a total loss of approximately 320,000 jobs in…

The VAT rate for the hospitality and tourism sector will be cut from 13.5% to 9% with effect from November 1, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe has announced. He said he was making the VAT cut in recognition of the “unprecedented challenges” facing particular sectors of the economy. As part of the July Stimulus, the…

European Union leaders meeting in Brussels tomorrow and on Friday to discuss Brexit will say that progress in talks with Britain is “still not sufficient” to seal a new trade deal, according to a draft summit decision seen by Reuters.  As the year-end deadline approaches to put in place a new relationship, the 27 national…

Multinational corporations (MNCs) were already outpacing indigenous firms in Ireland before Covid made business conditions more difficult for the domestic sector. Sectors dominated by foreign-owned companies – such as IT and pharmaceuticals – grew by 6.9pc in 2019, while domestic sectors grew by 4.5pc, according to gross value added (GVA) figures from the Central Statistics…

The Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) may be extended beyond its end date of next April, Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys has suggested. Speaking in the Dáil, she said: “Nobody can predict the trajectory of the virus and it may well be that the payment will be needed beyond next April which is all the more…

The Eurozone economy is facing a “tougher” period than in spring as the pandemic continues to heap pressure on members, according to former Central Bank of Ireland governor Philip Lane, now chief economist with the European Central Bank (ECB). But Mr Lane has insisted in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that the ECB…

The Government expects to run a budget deficit this year of just over €21bn or 6% of GDP.  This figure is lower than forecast, largely due to stronger tax receipts running 15% ahead of expectations.  The figures are contained in the White Paper, which lays out the public finances ahead of any decisions that may…

The first 50 of 300 community Broadband Connection Points (BCPs), that are being rolled out as part of the National Broadband Plan (NBP) have been connected. BCPs are public locations which have been selected to receive free high-speed connectivity in the first year of the NBP, to provide broadband to communities that don’t have it,…

The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has said that without accounting for policy measures in key areas, such as health and housing, the Budget estimates for next year will include an increase of approximately €3 billion in core expenditure. A further €9bn roughly will be needed for Covid related spending, Michael McGrath said, although…

The UK economy grew much more slowly than expected in August, setting back its recovery from the coronavirus lockdown. Much of what growth recorded in August was down to a one-off government restaurant subsidy programme, official data showed today.  UK gross domestic product rose by 2.1% from July, its slowest month-on-month increase since the economy…