Archive for May 2025

The euro zone economy grew slower in the first quarter than initially estimated but employment held up well, indicating that the bloc keeps creating jobs despite years of anaemic expansion, data from Eurostat showed today. Gross domestic product in the first three months grew by 0.3%, below an initial estimate for 0.4%, but that was…

A record €2.5 billion worth of personal loans were drawn down last year. These included loans for cars, home improvement works, holidays and weddings. The figures from Banking and Payments Federation Ireland show that loan values increased by 20% on the previous year, while volumes jumped 13%. In total, almost 230,000 loans were drawn down…

New figures from the Central Bank show that the average interest rate on new mortgages in Ireland continued to fall to March. The Central Bank said the average interest rate on new Irish mortgage agreements in March eased to 3.77% from 3.79% in February. The equivalent euro area average for March was unchanged at 3.33%,…

Tánaiste Simon Harris will travel to Brussels for meetings with European Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič and EU trade ministers to discuss trade and tariffs. Mr Harris will hold a bilateral meeting with Commissioner Šefčovič on the margins of the EU Foreign Affairs Council on Trade. There will be a detailed discussion on the European Union’s…

New research has shown that Ireland’s international competitiveness ranking would improve if Modified Gross National Income (GNI*) is used as an economic indicator instead of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). GNI* is seen as a more accurate measure of the domestic economy as it excludes much of the impact of the multinational sector. The National Competitiveness…

The United States and China have slashed sweeping tariffs on each others’ goods for 90 days, after a temporary ceasefire in a trade war that roiled global markets and international supply chains. The US and China agreed to drastically lower sky high tariffs in a deal that emerged from pivotal talks at the weekend in…

The Government has announced an additional €30m in funding and an extension to 2027 for the First Home Scheme (FHS). The scheme is a shared-equity initiative designed to help bridge the funding gap for eligible first-time buyers and other homebuyers between their deposit and mortgage, and the price of their new home. Under the scheme…

National Broadband Ireland (NBI), the company delivering the Government’s National Broadband Plan (NBP), has announced that over 125,000 premises across Ireland are now connected to its high-speed fibre broadband network. There are now 361,101 homes, farms and businesses that have been passed with NBI fibre out of the current target of 564,000. NBI said the…

The US is to cut the low value “de minimis” tariff on China shipments to 54% from 120%, with a flat fee of $100 to remain, starting from May 14, modifying an earlier order imposed by Washington, a White House executive order has said. The move comes several hours after Beijing and Washington announced a…

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the number of new electric vehicles licensed in April increased by 23% on the same time last year – rising to 1,783 from 1,444. This means the share of EVs among new private cars from January to April was 16% compared with 13% during the same…