Archive for October 2024

The European Central Bank (ECB) is widely expected to cut interest rates today. If a reduction happens it would automatically benefit tracker mortgage customers and put downwards pressure on variable rates. The ECB had increased rates in an effort to reduce inflation two years ago. But latest figures show the rise in the cost of…

The Approved Housing Body sector has seen huge growth over the past ten years, the CEO of the Irish Council for Social Housing has said. Donal McManus said that the AHB sector has been “a key player in a State-wide social and affordable housing recovery.” The ICSH, which represents more than 270 member organisations, is…

Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe has announced additional spending of €1bn above the figures published on Budget Day. The extra expenditure contained in the supplementary estimates relates to the Departments of Housing, Social Protection and Education for 2024. The measures were agreed at a Cabinet meeting today. Other additional spending had been announced earlier.…

The Government has submitted a five year economic plan to the EU setting out its spending projections as part of a process of much greater oversight of Ireland’s budgets. The Medium Term Fiscal and Structural Plan says each EU Government “will commit to a binding fiscal path as well as to a set of public…

Economists expect inflation rates to stay above the European Central Bank’s 2% target in the medium term, according to a survey published by Germany’s Ifo institute today, a day before the central bank holds its next monetary policy meeting. In the euro zone, economists expect inflation to reach 2.6% this year, according to the quarterly…

Ireland’s pension system ranking has dropped to 18th place when compared with global peers, a new report shows. The Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index compares 48 retirement income systems, covering 65% of the world’s population. The Netherlands’ retirement income system retained the top spot on the list, with Iceland and Denmark remaining in second…

The Minister for Finance will seek Cabinet approval for a strategy that will make it a requirement for all Government departments and State bodies to accept cash or facilitate cash payments. Jack Chambers will tell Cabinet colleagues that cash remains the preferred form of payment for many people in society, particularly older people, and it…

Demand for bank loans across the 20-nation euro zone rose in the third quarter and a further increase is expected in the final three months of the year, with household mortgages driving the expansion, a European Central Bank survey showed today. Lending growth has been hovering just above zero all year as high interest rates…

Construction activity contracted slightly in September, the fourth time it has decreased in the last five months. The BNP Paribas Real Estate (BNPPRE) Ireland Construction Total Activity Index fell to 49 from 50 a month earlier. Activity in the housing sector resumed expanding following a tiny dip in the previous month. It means that activity…

The average interest rate on new Irish mortgages remained unchanged for the third month running in August at 4.11%, new figures from the Central Bank shows today. The standstill comes despite a European Central Bank rate cut in June of 0.25%. It means that the average cost of a new mortgage in Ireland remains the…