Archive for July 2021

New figures from the Department of Social Protection show that the number of people getting the Pandemic Unemployment Payment are at the lowest level since early March 2020. Just over 202,000 people received the Pandemic Unemployment Payment this week, a decrease of almost 9,700 on last week. The largest reduction – over 3,000 – was…

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Michael McGrath will tell his Government colleagues this morning that Covid spending over a 22 month period to the end of this year will top €30 billion. Minister McGrath will update the Cabinet on government spending ahead of the publication of the Mid-Year Expenditure Report. It is understood that…

There will not be any time limits for those allowed to eat and drink inside pubs and restaurants under guidelines agreed with the hospitality sector this evening. Closing time will be set at 11.30pm and an app will be developed by Government to allow business owners to check customers’ Digital Covid Certificates at the door…

The EU is to set up a stand-alone agency to crack down on money laundering across Europe where major banks have been hit by a wave of dirty money scandals. Many cases have involved northern countries such as Denmark, Sweden and Finland with a reputation for playing by the rules, but criminal gangs and terrorism…

Representatives from the restaurant and bar sector will this evening meet with Government officials as work continues on guidelines ahead of the anticipated reopening of indoor hospitality next week. The question of whether or not there will be time limits on the indoor service in bars and restaurants will be examined. Last night, there were…

President Michael D Higgins has signed into law measures that will allow for the taxation of institutional investors who buy homes in bulk. In a bid to clamp down on the bulk purchase of homes, a stamp duty of 10% will be applied to institutional investors that buy ten homes or more. Apartments will not…

The Government has approved the drafting of a bill which will introduce a cap on the interest rates that moneylenders can charge. The legislation proposes two rate caps, one for cash loans, and one for running accounts – these are similar to tied credit cards, and are often used by catalogue companies. For cash loans,…

Euro zone government bond yields fell on Monday ahead of Thursday’s policy meeting of the European Central Bank (ECB), while concerns about the Delta variant of the coronavirus continued to dampen risk sentiment. ECB policymakers are set for a showdown as they chart a new policy path, with disagreements on the economic outlook and thus…

Almost 14,000 new companies were registered in Ireland in the first half of the year, up 42% on the same period in 2020 – according to CRIF Vision Net. Within this period, March was the strongest month for start-ups recording a total of 2,715 new registrations. According to the data, the legal, accounting and business…

It’s not just temperatures which have shot up this week. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) confirmed that the economy, or at least parts of it, is going through a definite heatwave of spectacular growth. We also learned through the Summer Economic Statement that the Government intends to borrow a lot more money than had been…