Archive for February 2023

The Government has agreed a more targeted cost-of-living package, along with some universal payments, with €470m set to be allocated for social protection measures. It follows a meeting last night between the Coalition leaders and the ministers for finance, public expenditure and social protection. The plan was signed-off by the Cabinet this morning. Among the…

The Government has today announced more measures to help businesses deal with cost-of-living increases. It announced a final extension of the 9% reduced VAT rate for the hospitality sector for a further six months. The reduced VAT rate will return to the standard 13.5% rate from September. The measures announced today will also see the…

European new car sales up 10.7% in January European new car registrations jumped in January, data from the region’s carmaker association showed today. The number of new vehicles registered in the European Union, Britain and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) grew by 10.7% to 911,064 units, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) said. Article…

The Government has established a working group to coordinate efforts to combat the spread of disinformation on the internet. The multi-stakeholder group will be tasked with providing a joined-up approach to reduce the creation and spread of false and harmful material. Members will aim to complete a National Counter Disinformation Strategy by the end of…

The Government’s latest cost-of-living package is on course to exceed €1.2bn, of which €400m looks set to be allocated for social protection measures. It follows a meeting last night between the Coalition leaders and the ministers for finance, public expenditure, and social protection. The plan will be signed-off by the Cabinet when it meets at…

Property markets worldwide are showing signs of slowing in response to higher interest rates with some going into reverse already. Here, the annual rate of growth in property prices nationally had slowed to just below 8% by the end of last year, the latest measure form the Central Statistics Office this week showed. In December…

Senior coalition figures will meet this evening to finalise plans on cost-of-living measures, with the final package due to be signed off by the full Cabinet tomorrow. It is expected that some temporary supports that were in place will have to be unwound. The three coalition party leaders will be joined by the Ministers for…

The number of uninsured private vehicles on Irish roads grew for the third year in a row, according to new research carried out by the Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland. Last year the total number of private vehicles driving without insurance reached 187,803, an increase of 13,626 on 2021. The figures show that uninsured vehicles…

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the annual rate of inflation slowed to 7.8% in January from 8.2% in December. The CSO said that prices fell overall in the month by 0.8%. Core inflation, which strips out energy and food prices, stood at 5%. The traditional January sales saw the price of…

Almost one in five Irish firms experienced a cyber attack or data breach in 2022, according to a new survey. The study from professional services firm Aon shows that large companies with more than 250 employees are more at risk. According to the research, 35% of firms have provided cyber security training to employees which…