Archive for March 2021

Today’s Government announcement will provide relief for some sectors. The Irish Hairdressers Federation has welcomed the news that the industry could be allowed to reopen in May. However, it has called for further clarity on the dates involved in order to move forward. Danielle Kennedy, the Federation’s President, said while they do welcome the indication of a May…

Listed house prices have increased by 7.6% on average over the past year, while the number of homes available to buy are down 34%, according to the latest report from property website Daft.ie. The average listed price in the first quarter of last year was €256,000. That has since increased to €276,000 this quarter. According to…

The Evolve Strategic Planning Grant assists businesses to develop a strategic response to address the new trading environment with the UK The Evolve Strategic Planning Grant offers up to €5,000 in support to Enterprise Ireland supported companies to help cover expenses associated with a short assignment to determine how the company might respond to the threats and…

The Government is expected to approve the establishment of a high-level working group to review collective bargaining rights and the industrial relations landscape in Ireland.  The proposal will be brought to Cabinet today by Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar. The group, an initiative under the auspices of the Labour Employer…

The Government has defended the absence of any detailed targets and funding allocations in its new five-year strategic plan for Rural Ireland. Minister for Social Protection and Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys said given the pandemic it would “unwise at this time” to have detailed targets on job creation in the regions. Taoiseach Micheál Martin…

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the volume of retail sales jumped by 13.9% in February compared to January even though the country remained under strict lockdown restrictions.  On an annual basis, retail sales volumes were only 3.2% lower in February compared with the same time last year when the economy was…

The European Central Bank must remain a key stabiliser of the euro zone economy as the bloc is at risk of suffering longer-term damage from its pandemic-induced double-dip recession, ECB chief economist Philip Lane said over the weekend.  A sustained period of low activity reduces labour productivity, weakens corporate balance sheets and saps confidence, leading…

Ireland’s economy will grow by 3.1% this year, employers’ group Ibec is predicting, down from the 5.3% it said it was anticipating for 2021 just three months ago. Although lower than previously forecast, the organisation thinks expansion will still be driven by an acceleration of the roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccine through the second half of…

“I don’t know what a tracker mortgage is.”  Remember the ad? The ad was released by the financial regulator around 2007, as part of a campaign to educate people on their consumer rights.  Well sadly, 14 years on, most of us now know all too well what a tracker mortgage is, thanks to the now…

The Government has confirmed that it will extend the €2 billion Credit Guarantee Scheme, with the scheme remaining open for applications until the end of the year. The scheme is the biggest ever state-backed loan guarantee in Ireland and offers an 80% Government guarantee to participating lenders to provide Irish businesses with access to low…