Archive for October 2025

Over a third of Irish people failed to make full use of their holiday entitlements last year, according to new research. It represents an overall improvement on the same study last year which found 42% of workers had failed to use all their annual leave. The findings are based on a survey of almost 2,000…

Official data may be understating the amount of corporation tax paid by the manufacturing and information and communications technology (ICT) sectors, according to the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council. Figures from the Revenue Commissioners show that around 70% of Ireland’s corporation tax revenues have come from just three broad sectors – manufacturing, ICT and financial and…

Over half a billion euro is to be paid to Irish farmers in advance payments as part of two EU-funded income-support schemes in the coming days, the Minister for Agriculture has confirmed. Minister Martin Heydon said from tomorrow €510.9m in payments will be made to 110,499 farmers under the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS)…

Residential property prices grew by 7.4% in the year to August, the lowest rate since March last year and unchanged from the year to July, new figures from the Central Statistics Office show today. The CSO said that property prices outside of Dublin were 9.2% higher in August of this year compared to a year…

The increased volume of AI-generated videos online could eventually turn people away from social media platforms, an expert has said. Social media platforms are embracing AI-generated content because it creates advertising revenue, according to Dr Constance de Saint Laurent, who is Assistant Professor of Sociotechnical Systems at Maynooth University, but added that it might not…

ICS Mortgages is to reduce the interest rates and fees across its Housing Bridging Loan products. From October 16, ICS said the rate on its housing bridging loans will reduce to 10% from 12% a year. Its arrangement fee will fall to 1% from 2%, while its exit fee will be reduced to 0% from…

Building activity, including residential construction, has declined for a fifth month in a row, a monthly survey by AIB has shown. The bank’s sampling of purchasing managers in the construction sector indicated there were falls across housing, commercial and civil engineering. The survey said that a continuing downturn in the sector had gathered pace in…

Some of the world’s biggest tech firms have soared in value over the last year. As AI evolves at pace, there are hopes that it will improve lives in ways that people could never have imagined a decade ago – in sectors as diverse as healthcare, employment and scientific discovery. OpenAI is now worth US$500…

Gold prices climbed to a record high above $4,100 today on increased US Federal Reserve rate cut prospects, while resurgent US-China trade woes boosted safe-haven bets, including those for silver, which also reached an all-time peak. Spot gold rose 1.7% to a record high of $4,179.48 per ounce, early this morning. US gold futures for…

US President Donald Trump revived the trade war against China yesterday, ending an uneasy truce between the two largest economies with promises to sharply hike tariffs in a reprisal against China curbing its critical mineral exports. The US president unveiled additional levies of 100% on China’s US-bound exports, along with new export controls on “any…