Posts by sean

Irish food and drinks companies are generally positive about the future, despite issues with inflation, input costs and labour availability. That is according to a survey of over 100 companies undertaken by Love Irish Food and Bank of Ireland in March and April of this year. Much has been said about rising costs for businesses…

Advertised rents rose by just 0.6% between January and the end of March, new data from the property listings website Daft.ie shows. It meant that average rent sought in the first quarter was €1,836 per month, an increase of 4.9% on the same period last year. That is the lowest annual rate of asking price…

More than 400 leaders from politics, business, economics and civic life are gathering in Killarney, Co Kerry over the next three days for the inaugural Global Economic Summit. They will discuss themes including climate change, energy sustainability, health ecosystems, education, technology and artificial intelligence. The summit is a not-for-profit event which aims to develop new…

New figures from AA Ireland show a a slight fluctuation in petrol and diesel prices over the last few weeks after a sharp increase in April. The AA Ireland’s latest monthly Fuel Price Survey shows that average petrol prices rose by two cent per litre to €1.83, while diesel dropped two cent a litre to…

Failure to address the policy constraints around data centres in Ireland will put the country at risk of missing economic benefits of next generation technologies, an industry body has warned. Digital Infrastructure Ireland (DII), which is made up of ten data centre developers and operators here, has called for the Government to set up a…

Pay increases, the rise of artificial intelligence and staff surveillance are among the topics to be discussed at the triennial conference of the Financial Services Union (FSU) which opens in Belfast. Delegates will vote on 26 motions covering issues such as the four-day week, branch closures and collective bargaining. In his opening address to the…

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that Ireland’s unadjusted exports of goods increased by €2.3 billion to €53.2 billion in the first quarter of this year compared with the same time last year. The CSO said that seasonally adjusted exports of goods amounted to €17.6 billion in March, virtually unchanged on the previous…

Over €12 billion was spent using mobile wallets such as Apple Pay and Google pay in the 12 months to March, new data shows. The figures from Banking and Payments Federation Ireland reveal that mobile wallet payments accounted for more than half of the value of all contactless payments made during the period. €24 billion…

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that residential property prices grew by 7.3% on an annual basis in March. This marked the fastest rate of increase since December 2022 and the tenth monthly increase in a row. The CSO said that home prices rose in Dublin by 7.2% and outside of Dublin by…

Public sector workers will today call for an increase in starting salaries amid claims that pay for new entrants is far too low. The issue will be debated at the biennial conference of Fórsa, the country’s largest public sector trade union. More than 700 delegates have gathered in Killarney for the event which began last…