Posts by sean

Budget 2025 is to be brought forward one week to Tuesday 1 October, Minister for Finance Jack Chambers has said. Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Mr Chambers said it was the “natural date” to hold the Budget due to ministerial commitments in Europe the following week. “We’ve to submit our fiscal and budgetary submission to…

The Taoiseach has told the banks he wants people to feel the benefits of reduced monthly mortgage repayments as quickly as possible as interest rates begin to fall. Simon Harris has now concluded a series of meetings with banks, credit unions and non-bank lenders. The meetings focused on mortgage interest rates, the housing sector and…

Growth in the country’s service sector moderated slightly in June, bringing jobs growth to a near standstill but a sharp drop in input costs offered welcome relief to firms, a survey showed today. The AIB Global S&P Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 54.2 from 55 in May, broadly in line with the trend for the…

Bank of Ireland has downgraded its outlook for growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to 1% this year and 3.9% in 2025. The bank had previously guided GDP growth of 1.5% for 2024 and 4% next year. The downwards revision was accounted for mainly by distortions associated with the multinational sector rather than any material…

The Government has given the go-ahead for the drafting of legislation to complete the dissolution of the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) and the winding up of the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC). When enacted, the laws will facilitate the planned ending of the liquidation of IBRC by the end of this year and the…

A new report from the ESRI shows that 35,000 to 53,000 new dwellings will be needed annually based on projected population growth scenarios. The report looks at forecasts for population levels and related housing requirements using census and research data, as well as various forecasts on international migration patterns. The research was funded by the…

Average motor insurance premiums rose marginally in the first half of last year, compared to the year before, new data from the Central Bank has shown. Premiums increased by 0.5% to €561 during the period after a decreasing trend that had been seen since the second half of 2017. However, the small increase in premiums…

The annual rate of inflation rose at the slowest rate in more than three years in June, increasing by 1.5% year-on-year compared to a rate of 2% in May, a flash estimate of the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) from the Central Statistics Office today. Irish HICP had fallen to 1.6% in April from…

New figures from Banking and Payments Federation Ireland show there was a fall in the number of mortgages approved by Ireland’s main banks in May compared to the same time last year. That was driven by a more than 10% fall in approvals for first time buyers, although BPFI said that was in part due…

New research commissioned by life insurance and pensions firm Royal London Ireland has found that 67% of Irish people say that it is more difficult than ever to buy their first home. The research also shows that 27% agree that while it is difficult to get on the property ladder, this has always been the…