Archive for March 2021

The increase in Government spending in response to the Covid pandemic over the first three quarters of last year was the second highest in the euro area, according to a report published by the Central Bank.  In an ‘Economic Letter’ which sets out the views of Central Bank economists rather than the Bank itself, the…

The average loss to a small and medium enterprise here arising from fraud stood at just below €4,000 last year, according to research carried out by Bank of Ireland. The most common way in which an SME experienced fraud was via an invoice that appeared to be from a vendor but contained amended bank account…

A public consultation on enhancing and reforming the remit of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) begins today. Launched by the Minister for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation, Robert Troy, it is part of the Government’s Action Plan for Insurance Reform. The objective of the consultation is to enhance the board’s remit, to bring…

There was a time in the last decade when the Central Bank’s mortgage arrears figures were as keenly anticipated as the property price figures from the Central Statistics Office. They’ve gradually slipped from public and media focus as the years have passed, but the problem hasn’t gone away. There remains a significant number of residential…

Essential workers including those in retail, transport, cleaning and food service should receive a living wage with access to an occupational pension, according to the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar. However, addressing a seminar of the Employment Bar Association, Mr Varadkar failed to indicate any time frame for when the…

There was a marginal decline in the number of mortgage accounts on private residences that were in arrears at the end of December, according to the Central Bank. 54,986 mortgage accounts were in some form of arrears by the end of the year, a decline of 0.8% – or 462 accounts – over the three…

Irish family firms cut more jobs in the past year when compared to their European peers, according to a new report. The study by the Step Project Global Consortium and KPMG Private Enterprise found that employment in Irish family firms was 15% lower than pre-pandemic levels. That compares to a fall of 4% across European family…

The average price of farmland rose by 15% nationally last year, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the latest Irish Farmers Journal’s county land price report shows. Today’s report shows that the average price of agricultural land reached €10,316 an acre, up from €8,971 in 2019.  This is the highest average land price figure recorded since the…

The stockbroker Davy need only look in the mirror when it asks itself how things went so catastrophically wrong, the Director General of Financial Conduct at the Central Bank has said. Derville Rowland also told the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland Membership Forum virtual event that consumer and investor protection begins with firms themselves.…

The European Central Bank is aiming to stop bond yields from rising before the pandemic-hit euro zone economy is ready to digest higher borrowing costs, the ECB’s chief economist Philip Lane said today. The ECB decided last week to accelerate bond purchases for the next three months to counter a rise in bond yields. Policymakers…