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The Department of Transport has today confirmed that the maximum private vehicle electric car grant will be set at €3,500 from July 1, down from the current maximum of €5,000. Ireland has a buoyant demand for electric vehicles and there was an 81% increase in registration of EVs last year compared to the previous year,…

A new group to examine the future of the tillage sector is being established by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue. The development comes as doubts have been raised about whether the Climate Action Plan target of increasing the amount of land under tillage by 50,000 hectares by 2030 can be met.…

Minister for Finance Michael McGrath has expressed confidence in the Irish banking sector to withstand the turbulence being experienced in the global market. Mr McGrath updated his Cabinet colleagues on the banking situation this morning. Speaking afterwards, he said that the global financial system was “highly integrated” and therefore there may well be “some impacts”,…

A new report has cast doubt on the financial viability of renovating many vacant or derelict properties, without a significant increase in Government grants being made available. The study by the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) looked at 20 different case studies from around Ireland and found just a quarter were financially viable without…

The European Commission wants to require companies in Europe to back up climate-friendly claims about their products with evidence, under draft rules to stamp out misleading green labels for products from clothing to cosmetics. The European Union is set to propose today new requirements on companies seeking to promote goods sold in Europe with labels…

Patch, an accelerator programme for young entrepreneurs, has announced an all-island expansion. The initiative is open to 16-21-year-olds in Ireland and Northern Ireland and has received a new three-year funding commitment from the NDRC, Ireland’s national startup accelerator programme. Patch was established as a non-profit organisation in 2018 to develop and nurture entrepreneurial and technologically-minded…

Six out of ten taxpayers in Ireland still do not claims tax relief on their medical expenses, a new survey has found. While four out of every ten do not submit a tax return because of a lack of awareness, the research by Taxback.com found. A similar proportion said they don’t submit a return as…

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions and business group Ibec have released a joint statement to mark International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The two organisations say they are recommitting themselves to the elimination of racism and discrimination in the workplace. The joint statement outlines that Ireland now has a diverse labour market…

An organisation representing solid fuel merchant in Ireland has called for Government action to stem smuggling of coal into the country. Solid Fuel Merchants Ireland (SFMI) claims coal worth €56m is illegally brought into Ireland from Northern Ireland and sold here every year The body has called for additional enforcement measures to deal with the…

82% of the public fear that consumers will be impacted by the decrease in banking competition caused by the exit of Ulster Bank and KBC Bank Ireland from the market. The research carried out by Amárach was commissioned by Metamo, the joint venture between 16 credit unions and Fexco. Despite the perceived reduction in competition…