Posts by sean

US President Donald Trump has announced a new tariff of 100% on branded pharmaceutical imports from companies that are not building manufacturing plants in the US. On his social media platform Truth Social, President Trump said beginning 1 October, the US will levy a 100% tariff on “any branded or patented pharmaceutical unless a company…

The number of mortgages approved last month was down 17% on the figures for July. The latest Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) Mortgage Approvals Report also shows that there was 2.5% reduction in approvals in August compared to the same month last year. The report shows 4,536 mortgages were approved in August 2025. First-time…

The Taoiseach is in Canada for a bilateral meeting with the Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. The two leaders are expected to discuss trade, Ukraine and Gaza. US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada have cost Canadian exporters five billion dollars so far this year, and have soured relations between the two, as have President…

Ibec says the Irish economy is continuing to show “remarkable momentum and resilience.” In its latest economic outlook, the employers group says investment and consumer demand, in particular, have held up “despite enormous uncertainty about the global trading environment”. It is warning that there are challenges ahead, “driven by a slowing global economic environment and…

The Government has been warned of the danger of overheating the economy with its planned €9.4 billion spending increase in the Budget next month by the Economic and Social Research Institute. The development comes a week after the Central Bank said the additional expenditure in the Budget was “too large”. The ESRI said the Government’s…

More than half of Irish consumers would stop buying from an online retailer following a cyber-attack, according to a new survey. Just over a third of shoppers say they would make an informed decision based on the circumstances, while one in ten say they would be willing to return if the retailer resolved the issue…

Dublin Airport operator daa has said there is currently no timeline set for a fix to be implemented following a Europe-wide cyber attack last weekend which is impacting check-in and boarding systems at Terminal 2. The issue arose early on Saturday and impacted major airports across Europe, including Heathrow, Brussels and Berlin. In a statement…

Imagine you’re the owner of a successful Irish small and medium-sized enterprises (SME). You’ve built your business over decades and you’re now nearing retirement so the time has come to decide who replaces you. There’s no manager who can afford to buy you out, and no family to succeed you. Your options are limited: sell…

The first of this winter’s Fuel Allowance Scheme payments are set to start this week. The means-assessed payment will be paid for 28 weeks to 410,000 households across the state. It is made at the weekly rate of €33 or, if preferred, by way of two instalment payments of €462 each. The scheme was recently…

Another wave of return-to-office orders made headlines recently. Large technology and media companies, including Microsoft, Paramount and Comcast have joined firms such as Amazon, JPMorgan Chase, Nike, and even the US federal government in announcing policies limiting employees’ opportunities to work remotely. This is not solely an American phenomenon: major Irish banks, including Bank of…