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Researchers at the Economic and Social Research Institute have asserted that Ireland’s tax policy “could be one of the key contributing factors to the country’s strong economic performance”. In a paper titled ‘Effective Tax Rates in Ireland’ the authors show Irish tax rates on labour (income tax) have been consistently lower than the EU average. The same…

The Covid-19 pandemic will cause the Irish food service market to contract in size by nearly half this year, new estimates from Bord Bia have found. However, the report predicts that the sector will experience a recovery next year, even in the worst case scenario. The food service market includes food and drink consumed and prepared…

The Irish food and drink industry has warned of serious economic disruption even if EU and UK negotiators reach agreement on a free trade deal in the coming days. Food Drink Ireland, part of IBEC, says the sector is the most exposed part of the most exposed country to Brexit, which is now just 50…

Talks between the UK and the European Union on a post-Brexit trade deal are likely to run into next week, missing a mid-November deadline, Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney has said. When asked when a deal was likely, he said: “I think it’s unlikely this week. Hopefully I’ll be proven wrong”. He made the comments in…

Mortgage rates in Ireland still remain elevated compared to the country’s euro zone neighbours, new Central Bank figures show. Ireland had the third highest mortgage interest rates across the euro area in September, the Central Bank said, with only Greece and Latvia higher.  The average interest rate on new mortgages agreed here stood at 2.78%…

Ulster Bank is urging online shoppers to be on the lookout for more than just bargains this Black Friday and Cyber Monday, with criminals increasingly targeting unsuspecting shoppers on some of the busiest e-commerce days of the year.  Ulster Bank’s annual fraud survey, which questioned 927 online shoppers, shows an increased awareness when it comes…

The ESB has teamed up with a Chinese-owned firm to develop a €3bn-plus wind farm off the coast of Scotland. It’s the second major Scottish offshore wind farm project that the semi-State ESB has signed up to in the past year. In its latest deal, the ESB has inked a 50-50 joint venture with Edinburgh-based…

The pandemic has prompted people to put more emphasis on the need to plan for their financial future. More than six out of 10 people said they now see planning for their financial futures as more important than they did prior to the Covid-19 outbreak. However, less than half of those surveyed said they are…

The gap between the highest and lowest mortgage rates has stretched to a five-year record. It comes after the launch of a mortgage rate of less than 2pc which has driven a surge in switching activity. The new rate is the lowest in this market for 12 years. The gap in rates means the difference…

The European Union will impose tariffs on American goods worth $4bn starting today in a tit-for-tat escalation over illegal aid to aircraft manufacturers Boeing and Airbus. EU trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis yesterday expressed a preference to negotiate a settlement, saying the bloc would drop its duties if the US withdrew the tariffs it imposed on…