Archive for April 2021

A survey by the Central Bank and the ESRI has found the impact of Covid-19 on small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) has been “profound”. The survey reveals that almost a quarter of SMEs could be vulnerable to liquidation when insolvency criteria begin to normalise. The survey, carried out between July and September last year,…

The Minister for Finance has said that scaling up the vaccine programme is key to the re-opening of the economy and that is happening now with 170,000 vaccines planned for this week. Paschal Donohoe said that re-openings in March and April happened and in the coming weeks and months the delivery of vaccine targets will…

Land prices remained resilient last year despite the threat posed by Covid-19, according to a report by the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland and Teagasc. Nationally, the price for non-residential land ranged from an average of €5,900 per acre for poor quality land to €9,381 for good quality land. The Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland…

A report on pensions has found that fees and charges are so high that over time they are wiping out the tax relief given to pension savers by the State. The findings have led the Labour Party to draw up legislation that would force pension providers to be more transparent about charges. Labour finance spokesman…

Brexit trigged a major reduction in cargo volumes at Dublin Port in the first quarter of this year, while Covid-19 also hit passenger numbers. The Dublin Port Company said today that its trade volumes fell by 15.2% in the first three months of 2021. The main driver was a decline in freight from British ports,…

Ulster Bank, Bank of Scotland Ireland, Rabobank, Danske Bank, and more. There have been plenty of lenders who have dipped their toes in the Irish banking sector, only to discover in recent years that the temperature of the water is not to their liking, and disappear. And now it seems one more may be about…

The price of residential property nationally rose by 3% in February, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office. This compares to an increase of 2.6% in January and a 1% increase in the 12 months to February of last year. Prices were slower to rise in Dublin with an increase of 1.2%.…

The National Treasury Management Agency has raised €3.5 billion through the sale of a new 20-year bond. The bond, which matures in April 2041, was sold at an interest rate of 0.585%. The NTMA said it received orders worth more than €35 billion as part of the sales process. It brings to €10.5 billion the…

Trade with Great Britain continued to decline in February, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office. Imports of goods from Britain were down €742m, or 53%, in February compared to February last year. This was an easing on the 65% year-on-year fall in January when new post-Brexit trade barriers came into force.…

The Government has formally authorised the Low Pay Commission to investigate how Ireland can move towards a living wage, and must report in the second half of this year. Last year’s Programme for Government committed to move the wages floor from the current national minimum wage of €10.20 per hour to a living wage of…