Archive for February 2021

Revenue has apologised for ongoing intermittent performance problems with its main import system. This has led to difficulties and delays for businesses trying to bring goods into the country since the end of the Brexit transition period.  Tom Talbot, head of the Revenue Customs operation at Dublin Port, said degradation issues with its Automated Import System…

Almost half of Irish small businesses surveyed by payments company Visa said they were now offering contactless payments options to their customers for the first time. That is up from 15% of firms who said they were doing so in June of last year, as businesses were adapting to new demands amid the Covid-19 pandemic.…

Revenue has warned that anyone buying a used car from the UK needs to be aware of the significant additional costs that may apply, following the end of the Brexit transition period. Since the UK became a “third country” on January 1, used cars imported from there that were originally manufactured in the EU or…

It was a tale of two rental markets in 2020 with monthly rents in the capital down 3%, but outside of Dublin, rents were up 5%, the latest rental report from property website daft.ie shows. The average rent per month nationally stood at €1,414 in the final quarter of the year, up 0.9% on the same time…

There was a sharp reduction in construction activity in January as the industry was largely shuttered under the latest Government restrictions introduced to curb the spread of Covid-19. The monthly measure of activity in the sector, carried out by Ulster Bank, captured the sharpest decline in activity since May of last year. It brought to…

The Local Enterprise Office network is holding a webinar for small businesses today on changes to the trade regime since the UK left the EU at the start of January. The webinar will address, among other issues, how businesses can adapt to the new regime and the range of Government supports that are available to…

A full meeting of the Judicial Council will consider draft guidelines which, if adopted, will recalibrate the level of damages that can be awarded to claimants involved in personal injury cases. The new guidance has been drawn up by the council’s Personal Injuries Committee, following a detailed analysis of the issue and was submitted to…

There was a big increase in the number of housing projects completed in the final three months of last year, new Central Statistics Office figures show.  That push brought the number of new dwellings last year close to the number completed in 2019, the CSO said.  The CSO figures published today show that the number…

EU sources have expressed concern over the tone of Michael Gove’s letter to his European Commission counterpart on changes the UK is demanding to the Northern Ireland Protocol. The UK cabinet minister has demanded sweeping and swift changes to the Northern Ireland Protocol as the fallout continues from last week’s move by the Commission to…

The Covid-adjusted rate of unemployment rose to 25% in January, up from 19.4% in December, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office. Restrictions, including the closure of shops and restaurants and a ban on travel and home visits, were dropped for most of December but reimposed late in the month after a…