Posts by sean

Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien will seek Government approval to expand the local authority home loan for first-time buyers. The loan is currently only available for homes that are habitable and does not cover renovation costs. The Cabinet is expected to give the green light to a new local authority purchase and renovation loan, which…

New annual housing targets that will be significantly higher than the current figures are set to be published after the Budget in October. The figures will consider new research from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) on population and housing demand due to be published this month. It is expected to say that between…

The Central Statistics Office is today marking 75 years since it was first established in 1949. The CSO was established to gather, analyse and publish independent statistics and insights about Irish society, economy and environment. It publishes monthly and quarterly figures on many aspects of Irish life, including inflation figures, unemployment figures, residential property prices,…

The country’s manufacturing sector steadied last month after contracting in April although demand remained subdued, a survey showed today. The AIB S&P Global manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) stood at 49.8 in May, up from April’s nine-month low of 47.6, and close to the all-important 50 level that marks growth in activity. Respondents to the…

A new survey from KPMG highlights the challenge retailers and brands face in balancing price competitiveness and quality. Its latest Next Gen Retail Survey found that the majority – 76% – of consumers continue to be influenced by discounts when shopping. Price is the main driver for 56% of customers when it comes to choosing…

The Irish economy is expected to continue expanding at a robust pace in the coming years, according to a new report from AIB. However, it states that this growth will be more moderate than the pace of recent years as the economy bounced back from the pandemic. The inaugural AIB Economic Outlook Report forecasts that…

The annual rate of inflation increased to 1.9% in May, up from 1.6% in April, a flash estimate of the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) from the Central Statistics Office showed today. The CSO said that HICP increased by 0.5% on a monthly basis, up from an increase of 0.2% in April. The core…

The Central Bank made a loss of €132.1m last year, as a result of monetary policy decisions taken across the euro area to bring inflation down. Its Governor said the bank had been expecting and preparing over a number of years for the possibility of making a loss at some point and has reserves of…

Major technology companies have called on politicians to regulate artificial intelligence. Appearing before TDs and senators on the Oireachtas Enterprise Committee, representatives from Amazon, Google and Microsoft spoke of the negative and positive impacts that the technology might have. Kieran McCorry, National Technology Officer of Microsoft Ireland, told committee members that, at present, there is…

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that average weekly earnings rose by 4.7% to stand at €969.12 in the first quarter of this year compared to €925.44 the same time last year. Today’s CSO figures also show that average hourly earnings rose by 4.5% to €29.82 in the first three months of the…