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New figures from the Central Bank show that the total value of card transactions (including ATM transactions) decreased by 35% in April – the biggest annual decline recorded since the series began.  Today’s figures are the Central Bank’s first statistics to capture a full month of data where the Covid-19 emergency containment measures were in…

Fraudsters may have accessed thousands of taxpayers’ Revenue accounts using information provided by them unwittingly. Revenue has written to around 3,000 taxpayers advising them that their myAccount may have been accessed as part of a scam which was sent via text message. Revenue’s Chief Information Officer, John Barron, explained that Revenue constantly monitors for suspect…

Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection Regina Doherty has told the Dáil she will bring forward proposals for some changes to the Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment within the next week or so. She said that the Government is reviewing the nature of the payment. Ms Doherty reiterated that the Pandemic Unemployment Payment and the…

The State’s largest property owner, Irish Residential Properties REIT, said today that the overall supply of new housing and apartments is expected to be impacted by the ongoing restrictions due to Covid-19. In a statement issued ahead of its AGM today, it said it continued to add to its portfolio with the addition of 73 new apartments…

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show “an unprecedented collapse” in overseas travel to and from Ireland in April as the effects of the Covid-19 crisis deepened.  The CSO reported just 16,100 arrivals in April and 17,800 departures. This compares with monthly travel of more than 1.7 million in each direction the same time…

The Government has been advised to introduce a “significant” stimulus plan for the economy, once the immediate Covid-19 crisis is over. However, the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (IFAC|) has also warned that “all options must be kept on the table”, including spending cuts and tax rises to bring the public finances back in line once…

The number of people receiving the Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment has fallen to 579,400 – a drop of 5,200 over the last week.  Of these, 33,400 are receiving their last payment as they are returning to work.   These figures are on top of the 214,700 people receiving Jobseekers’ Benefit at the end of April. …

European countries need to join forces to shield their banks from the coronavirus outbreak, one of the bloc’s top regulators said today, potentially using a 500 billion euro EU recovery fund to do so. The remarks from Jose Manuel Campa, who leads the European Banking Authority (EBA), will rekindle a divisive debate about whether rich…

Consumer and business sentiment rose slightly in May, albeit from a low base according to the latest Pulse survey from Bank of Ireland. Consumer confidence was up marginally in the month, while all sectors of business saw an improvement. That came as improving data on the number of Covid-19 cases in Ireland continued to improve,…

Three quarters of consumers say they now use contactless payments at least once a week, according to a survey for the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland. The survey of 1,000 adults was conducted at the end of April by Coyne Research.  It coincided with the extension of the limit on contactless payments from €30 to…