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A slowdown in the market meant the number of new mortgages approved in July was down 9.7% on the same month last year and 0.4% on June, despite continued strong first time-buyer activity. New data from Banking and Payments Federation Ireland shows 4,747 new home purchase loans got the go-ahead in the month. First-time buyers…

The employment rate rose to over 74% in the second quarter of 2023, the highest rate since the current series of records began in 1998. The latest Labour Force Survey from the Central Statistics Office shows that the number of people in employment increased by 88,400 or 3.5% to 2,643,000 in the second quarter of…

52% of Irish SME businesses have taken the step to raise their prices, according to the latest Linked Finance SME Confidence Index. Recent Central Statistics Office figures show that inflation stood at 4.6% for July, down from 4.8% in June and 9.6% in July last year. Linked Finance said that initial steps taken by businesses to…

Sentiment among Irish consumers slipped for the first time in five months this month, amid bad news on the jobs front, global economic difficulties and ongoing inflation pressures. The drop in the Credit Union Consumer Sentiment Index may also reflect poor weather during the summer months, its author has suggested. Economist Austin Hughes said the…

The body representing the tourism industry here has said it is concerned that the recovery of the sector is still some way off the levels reached prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. Publishing its latest monthly tourism dashboard, the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC) said soaring cost inflation is damaging business profitability and this combined with…

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that wholesale electricity prices fell by 64% in July compared to the same time last year. The CSO said that electricity costs on the wholesale market are now lower than any time during the past two years, adding that the last time that prices were lower than…

The domestic economy grew by around 3.5% in June when compared to the same month last year, according to a new estimate from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI). That compares to estimated Modified Domestic Demand (MDD) growth of 3.1% in May, the ESRI said. “While June saw a further tightening of financial conditions…

The Government has published a plan to boost employment in the construction sector. The ‘Careers in Construction Action Plan’ highlights the need for the construction industry to recruit and retain a higher number of workers than is currently provided for through education, apprenticeships and current retention levels. It sets out a series of actions aimed…

Grocery inflation rose by 12.8% in the 12 weeks to August 6 – the lowest level of growth since November 2022 and the third drop in a row, new figures from Kantar show. Kantar said that take-home grocery sales in Ireland increased by 6.8% in the four weeks to August 6 as the average price…

The Minister for Finance has said he anticipates the rate of interest which is paid on savings accounts will increase in the weeks ahead. Michael McGrath said that while these are “commercial decisions for the banks”, he expects to see an increase. “The banks have not fully passed on increases in interest rates to mortgage…