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The consumer mood has risen to its highest level in two and a half years, according to the latest Credit Union consumer sentiment index. Easing cost-of-living concerns and continued improvements in the economy have boosted consumers’ attitudes, according to the survey. That led to an across-the-board pick up in the index’s readings. Consumers were more…

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that Irish ports handled 12.1 million tonnes of goods in the first quarter of this year, an increase of 2% compared with the same time last year. The CSO said that goods forwarded from Irish ports amounted to 3.8 million tonnes during January, February and March, while…

Commercial construction inflation was 1.5% in the first half of the year, the same rate as the six months before that. It means that the annual median national rate of commercial construction inflation for the year to June was 3%. That’s more than of the half the rate of 6.2% recorded in the previous 12…

Pressure was coming to bear on the banks this time last year to offer better returns to depositors against the backdrop of rising interest rates. They did respond with better offerings but consumers have to be willing to set their money aside for a few years in order to avail of the better rates. Most…

Ireland’s competitiveness watchdog has warned that the Government needs to do more to address significant longstanding challenges to securing the country’s ability to remain competitive into the medium to long-term, particularly in relation to infrastructure. In its flagship annual piece of research, Ireland’s Competitiveness Challenge 2024, the council said that while compared to other EU…

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that non-household entities bought a total of 12,201 homes at market prices last year, a decrease of 9.8% on the 13,522 purchases made by this group in 2022. Non-household entities are private companies, charitable organisations and state institutions. The CSO said the total value of the purchases…

The Department of Finance believes reinstating the 9% VAT rate for tourism and hospitality businesses remains “unjustified”. In a report on VAT, the department’s Tax Strategy Group said the opposition to the measure is based on the cost being very significant. “For instance the cost of a further temporary VAT reduction to 9% for a…

Growth in euro zone business activity stalled this month as a tepid expansion in the bloc’s dominant services industry failed to offset a deeper downturn among manufacturers, a survey showed today. HCOB’s preliminary composite Purchasing Managers’ Index, compiled by S&P Global, dropped to 50.1 this month from June’s 50.9. This was barely above the 50…

Indexing the entire personal tax system to ensure workers’ rising wages are not eroded by an additional tax burden could cost the exchequer over €1 billion a year. That is according to a paper from the Department of Finance’s Tax Strategy Group (TSG), which outlines the possible cost of potential income tax changes ahead of…

Grocery inflation in the 12 weeks to July 7 saw a marginal gain after falling for 15 months in a row, new figures from Kantar show today. Grocery inflation now stands at 2.6%, a small increase of 0.14 points over the last month but down 11.8 points compared to the same time last year. Kantar…