Archive for January 2021

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the Covid-19 adjusted unemployment rate stood at 20.4% in December as the Covid-19 crisis continues to have a significant impact on the labour market.  This figure includes people who are receiving the Pandemic Unemployment Payment and is down from 21% in November. The CSO said the…

Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys is expected to ask the Cabinet to approve the retention of the current Pandemic Unemployment Payment rates until the end of March, rather than reducing them on 1 February as was originally planned. The PUP scheme launched last March has so far cost the exchequer in excess of €5bn…

Consumers are beginning to see the introduction of additional charges and taxes when shopping with British retailers. Since Brexit took effect on 1 January, new rules have been implemented which will see VAT and Excise Duty being applied to many transactions. Purchases under €22 will not face additional charges, but anything over €22 will see the…

The Minister for Finance has said he believes the level of financial support provided in the Budget will be sufficient to cope with the ongoing effect of Covid-19.   Paschal Donohoe’s comments were echoed by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Michael McGrath at a press conference today. Michael McGrath said allocations to government…

NAMA generated €900 million cash in 2020, exceeding its target according to an end-of-year review published by the agency today. It expects to report a full-year profit for 2020 for the tenth consecutive year. NAMA said it expects to transfer €1 billion to Exchequer during 2021. It transferred €2 billion cash from its lifetime surplus…

The Alliance for Insurance Reform has said the insurance crisis can be sorted in 2021 if key actions are completed. Eoin McCambridge, managing director of McCambridge’s of Galway and director of the Alliance said nothing the Government has done so far has applied any downward pressure on insurance premiums. The Alliance said insurance has been…

The pound weakened versus the euro on Britain’s first day of trading outside the European Union, but strengthened against a softer dollar, climbing above $1.37 for the first time since May 2018, as traders weighed up Brexit relief with Covid-19 risks. The pound had strengthened after a last-minute Brexit deal was agreed on December 24,…

Despite it being a record year for savings in Ireland, much of it was accidental given that large sections of the economy were shut down for long periods in 2020 so there was reduced opportunity to spend. And many people were not in a position to accumulate savings given that their source of income had…

The Irish manufacturing sector saw a boost to business in December as firms prepared for the end of the Brexit transition period, according to the latest Purchasing Managers Index from AIB. Output rose at the fastest rates since July’s post-lockdown bounce, and purchasing accelerated as firms sought to expand inventories to guard against a potential…

The Central Bank has warned that Irish creditors with direct debits in place for UK customers may need to provide their banks with additional information to avoid payment requests being rejected. It follows the end of the Brexit transition period last night. “The Central Bank has engaged extensively with payment service providers, UK supervisory authorities…