Archive for May 2024

A new report has found that over two thirds of businesses are concerned about the introduction of pension auto-enrolment. The research by Aon found that more than a quarter of respondents are worried about the increased costs of additional contributions. A similar proportion have reservations about the impacts on existing contributions. 38% of participants said…

Cost-of-living measures “must once again be a focus” for Budget 2025, Taoiseach Simon Harris has said. Mr Harris made the comments during an address at the National Economic Dialogue in Dublin Castle this morning. He said that while there is a record number of people at work at just over 2.7 million, inflation is moderating…

The European Central Bank is ready to cut interest rates next month but policy must continue to be restrictive this year as wage growth will not normalise until 2026, ECB chief economist Philip Lane told the Financial Times today. The ECB has all but promised a rate cut for June 6, so the debate has…

60% of Irish based businesses say a lack of funding is the main barrier they face when it comes to increasing their innovation levels, new research has found. 41% of those surveyed also said the time consuming nature of the grant administration was a large obstacle when it comes to research, development and innovation (RDI)…

New figures from Kantar show that grocery inflation stood at 2.6% in the 12 weeks to May 12, down from 13.3% the same time last year and the lowest level since March 2022. Today’s figures also show that take-home grocery sales rose by 4.7% in the four weeks to May 12, with volumes per trip…

New EU rules have come into effect aimed at ensuring the union has access to a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials. The Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) is focused on protecting access to materials that are considered to be of high economic importance to the EU, but vulnerable to supply disruption. At…

The number of people in employment in the first quarter of the year stood at 2.7 million, a rise of 1.9% or 51,500, compared to a year ago. The annual change of 1.9% is the lowest annual increase in three years. The latest Labour Force Survey from the Central Statistics Office shows that 2,704,200 people…

New mortgage approvals rose again by both value and volume in April, driven by continued strong demand from first time buyers. The Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) said a total of 4,446 mortgages were approved last month. That is up 17.7% month-on-month and by 14% compared with the same period last year. In total…

The European Central Bank did not have to take its cues from the US Federal Reserve and could start to lower rates as soon as June, Bank of Finland governor Olli Rehn has told AFP. “While we don’t make policy in a vacuum, the ECB is not the 13th Federal district of the US Federal…

Revenue has published new guidance on determining the employment status of workers for tax purposes. It follows a recent Supreme Court judgement relating to Domino’s Pizza delivery drivers. In October 2023, the court ruled that the drivers should be treated as employees and not contractors. The case related to delivery drivers working on 2010/2011 contracts…