Archive for February 2021

The euro zone economy will rebound less than earlier expected from the coronavirus slump this year as a second wave of the pandemic put economies in new lockdowns, the European Commission said. But it added that growth in 2022 will be stronger than earlier thought.  The Commission forecast economic growth in 19 countries sharing the euro…

Ireland’s overall GDP growth is projected to come in at 3.4% in 2021 and is set to reach 3.5% in 2022 on the back of strong private consumption, exports and a recovery in investment. This is according to the European Commission’s Winter 2021 Economic Forecast, published today.  The Commission said the Government’s extended income subsidy schemes…

The European Union will strive for close co-operation with Britain on financial services, the EU Financial Services Commissioner Mairead McGuinness has said. But she said London cannot expect “equivalence-based” access to the EU financial market if it diverges widely on rules. Yesterday, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey urged the EU not to pick a…

The Director of Public Policy at Chartered Accountants Ireland has said Revenue will collect the tax owed on the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) for 2021 by reducing people’s tax credits when they return to work. Brian Keegan said that this is the normal course of events for most social welfare payments. But it will come as a…

88% of Irish consumers who shop online bought from websites outside of Ireland during the last year, according to research carried out by PayPal. The study involving more than 1,000 consumers in Ireland found that almost four in five (78%) of those who bought from websites outside of Ireland spent with UK retailers during this time.…

33% of businesses say a slow roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccination programme is the single biggest risk facing their organisation, according to new research by the Institute of Directors (IoD) in Ireland. An extension of Level 5 restrictions beyond next month is seen as the second biggest risk at 23%. According to the research, 78% of business leaders believe…

Irish banks lag behind their global counterparts when it comes to their digital services offering. This is according to a study of banks globally carried out by professional services firm, Deloitte, which is based on input from 5,000 customers of around 320 financial institutions worldwide. The Digital Banking Maturity Study places Ireland in the last…

Irish companies employing UK nationals working in other EU member states are being alerted to changes arising from Brexit which mean that their employees are now subject to potential work permission requirements. The same requirement applies to EU national employees hired here who need to travel to the UK for work purposes. The accounting and…

New Scheme targets businesses currently ineligible for CRSS & other sector specific grants Wholesalers, suppliers, caterers & events companies down 75% or more in turnover expected to benefit €10m extra for companies developing and making PPE & equipment used in fight against Covid-19 The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar T.D.…

The Government has been warned that the financial costs of continued restrictions are very large and that the short-term economic outlook has worsened due to the current Level 5 restrictions. Covid-19 contingency funds could run out by the middle of the year if restrictions are only eased gradually after 5 March. The additional costs of…