Posts by sean

There has been a significant drop-off in the number of people buying health insurance, according to new figures from the Health Insurance Authority (HIA). In its market bulletin for the first three months of 2025, the HIA said that just 7,318 people purchased a health insurance policy between January and March, compared to 13,633 in…

Revenue has announced that approximately 1,800 Residential Zoned Land Tax returns have been filed to date, with liabilities of almost €40 million paid. RZLT applies to land which is zoned for residential use and is serviced, and which has been identified on maps published by Local Authorities as being within the scope of the tax.…

The seasonally adjusted Live Register total for May 2025 was 165,700 people, down by 4,700 people or 2.8% from April 2025. New figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that the unadjusted Live Register total stood at 162,269 people for May 2025, of which 56% were male and 71.6% were Irish. The May Live…

The State’s independent financial watchdog has warned that Government spending was rising much faster than planned. The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council said “poor budgeting” was mostly to blame. It said current spending is up 6% so far this year, which was well above the 1.4% outlined in the Budget. It added: “This is because earlier…

Rent caps for new tenancies are to be eased as part of a plan expected to go to Cabinet next week. The Government looks set to change the current Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) in a move that has already been strongly criticised by opposition parties. Intensive discussions have taken place on this politically sensitive issue…

Bank of Ireland has issued a warning over what it calls a dramatic increase in reports and cases of attempted so-called ‘safe account’ scams. The lender is advising customers to be “on particular alert” for fraudulent texts that attempt to lure them into calling a fake bank phone line. According to the bank, the scammer…

Rents for newly-built properties will no longer be capped at 2% annually but will instead be tied to the rate of inflation under plans set to be considered by Cabinet next week. Changes to the Rent Pressure Zones will be brought to Government by Minister for Housing James Browne on Tuesday. The move is aimed…

Economic growth, including the contribution from multinationals or Gross Domestic Product, soared by 9.7% in the first three months of this year as exports to the US ramped up ahead of tariffs being imposed by the Trump administration. The figures were affected by strong exports from the pharmaceutical sector in Ireland particularly in March. “The…

Taxes collected by the State rose by 3.6% in the first five months of the year to €36.4bn, according to latest Exchequer Returns from the Department of Finance. When some funds from iPhone-maker Apple, which was forced to pay back taxes as part of settlement of up to €14bn to Ireland are included, the amount…

The ECB has cut interest rates for the eighth time in a year by one-quarter of a percentage point, which brings its rate down from 2.25% to 2% The move will immediately benefit tracker mortgage customers and put downward pressure on other rates. With inflation now safely in line with its 2% target, today’s decision…