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The value of mortgage approvals in 2020 exceeded €10 billion, despite a slump in lending in the early months of the pandemic. This is according to figures for the final quarter of 2020 and the full year from Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland. A rebound in activity in the final quarter of the year…

Greenhouse gas emissions fell in Ireland because of the pandemic, a new study shows. The dramatic declines in economic activity and transport in 2020 translated into greenhouse gas emission reductions of almost 6%. Early estimates in a report by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) said the reductions represent the biggest fall…

Business angels invested over €14m in start-ups across the island of Ireland in 2020, despite the pandemic induced restrictions throughout the year. This is according to the latest figures from HBAN, the Halo Business Angel Network.  HBAN is the all-island organisation responsible for the promotion of business angel investment, and is a joint initiative of Enterprise…

The Government is urging hauliers heading to France from tomorrow onwards to pre-book antigen testing before they travel, because of the new French requirement for a negative Covid-19 test for arrivals into the country. After tonight, all commercial drivers arriving in France from Ireland will have to produce a negative test result. New, dedicated testing…

A record number of new .ie Irish websites were registered in 2020, according to a new report by .IE, which manages and administers Ireland’s country domain name .ie. Over 65,000 new .ie domains were registered, a 30% increase on 2019. Peaks and troughs in new .ie registrations generally followed the Government’s restrictions on travel and business.…

Irish consumers are tapping their payment cards more than ever. Last December spending using contactless payments topped €1 billion for the first time ever. In the last three months of last year, contactless payments increased 60% year on year, partly due to the easing of Covid-19 restrictions and also Christmas spending. People are not only tapping…

Consumer sentiment dropped sharply in January as the number of Covid-19 cases surged following the Christmas period, a survey found today.  The KBC Bank Ireland consumer sentiment index dropped to 64.9 in January from a nine-month high of 74.6 in December.  That compares with the 2020 average of 65 and a pandemic low of 42.6…

Thousands of employees could face dismissal or problems in being hired if they refuse to be vaccinated, according to research by human resources technology firm HRLocker. The survey of 750 senior corporate executives based in Ireland and the UK reveals that 40% of respondents would be prepared to dismiss an employee who refused to get vaccinated without a…

A couple earning average wages still cannot afford even the cheapest new apartments in Dublin, according to a study. The Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) also found most types of apartments are not economically viable for developers to build for sale. The society’s report found that the situation has improved since its previous study…

The quantity of goods passing through Irish ports from the UK remains around half of what it was this time last year, nearly four weeks after the Brexit transition period came to an end.  At a briefing at Dublin Port this afternoon, officials from a range of state departments and agencies said volumes remained below…