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Demand for gas in January was up almost 11% on December’s levels, according to Gas Networks Ireland’s latest gas demand statement. A drop in temperatures and the return of people to schools and offices after the Christmas holidays accounted for much of the increase. Demand was so strong that three days during January were among…

The vacancy rate in the Dublin office market stood at 10% last year and could edge higher this year, a report from consultants BNP Paribas Real Estate Ireland concludes. 2021 was the weakest year for lettings since 2012, the report found. But the rise in the vacancy rate was contained by relatively modest levels of…

Land deals to the value of €648 million were transacted in 2021, representing growth of 11% on the previous year, a report from property consultants Savills Ireland concluded. Demand for land in prime areas with planning permission in place was described as ‘very strong’, attracting significant bids. Sites without permission have also been performing well,…

The jobs market is largely cyclical. Highly dependent on the ebb and flow of economic prosperity, the situation generally swings from being in the applicant’s favour to that of the employer. Right now, it’s very much to the former’s advantage. With an economy that has weathered the Covid pandemic better than most had predicted, the…

Annual inflation eased to 5% in January from a 20-year high of 5.5% in December after a 0.4% month on month fall marked the first monthly drop in consumer prices for over a year, the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office show today. Prices have been rising on an annual basis since April 2021,…

The number of people employed in Ireland increased by 10.1% to just over 2.5 million in the year to the fourth quarter of 2021, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office. It the first time the number has exceeded 2.5 million since the CSO data series began. The Labour Force Survey also…

The EU is not overly alarmed at the growing use of crypto-assets, the EU Commissioner for financial services, financial stability and Capital Markets Union has said. But Mairead McGuinness also warned that any new financial instrument that is growing and unregulated can cause enormous problems if “we don’t get to grips with it”. Earlier this…

131 million online and mobile payments were made in 2021, up 85% on 2016 levels. New figures from Banking and Payments Federation Ireland confirm that digital payments are continuing to rise rapidly, as consumers further reduce their reliance on cash and cheques. The number of digital payments made last year increased by over 10% compared…

A new €5m initiative aimed at fostering greater collaboration between Irish SMEs and global businesses is being launched today. The Innovation Exchange is being launched by Skillnet Ireland in association with the Dublin Business Innovation Centre. The idea of the collaboration is to address the digital skills challenges of multinationals by matching them with indigenous…

Residential property prices rose by 14.4% on an annual basis in December, new figures from the Central Statistics Office show. This was up slightly on the 14% annual rate recorded in November and marked the highest annual growth in over six years. Today’s figures show that residential property prices in Dublin rose by 13.1%, while…