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Cost-of-living concerns and US policy shifts weighed on Irish consumer confidence in February, according to the latest Credit Union Consumer Sentiment Survey. The study notes that a spate of announcements of price increases during the month suggest pressure on household finances remains an issue. While it says increased concerns about the implications of policy changes…

A survey of US companies that are members of the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland shows that 80% of respondents said they would continue to have a positive view of Ireland as an investment location if tariffs were imposed by the US on the EU. According to the study, 90% of respondents said their corporate…

Preliminary estimates from the Central Statistics Office for the fourth quarter of last year show that average weekly earnings rose by 5.6% to €979.71 from €927.98 the same time in 2023. The CSO said that average hourly earnings rose by 6.2% to €30.21 from €28.44. Over the five years from 2019 to 2024, average hourly…

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has launched a report calling for an online portal that would see used car buyers given free access to car-history information, including write-off status and mileage readings. The CCPC said this would allow consumers to more easily access this information and help limit the number of dangerous, clocked,…

Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris will seek Cabinet approval to allocate more than €50m towards cross-border projects. The Government has committed to increasing the Shared Island Fund by a further €1 billion up to 2035. Some €510.4m was allocated from the fund between 2020-2024. Up to €57m will now be set aside for…

German business leaders have today called on Berlin to form a new government swiftly, saying that Europe’s largest economy could not afford to waste any time as companies suffer from high costs, red tape and rising competition from abroad. The country’s conservative CDU/CSU bloc won Sunday’s national election to pave the way for a coalition…

New car sales in Europe were down by 2.1% in January, as a jump in fully electric and hybrid-electric car registrations in its main markets was not enough to compensate for falling petrol and diesel sales, industry data showed today. Overall sales in France, Italy, Germany and Britain were down from last year, with only…

There are 350,000 office jobs which could be done remotely according to a new report. The research is from Grow Remote, an organisation that promotes remote working and provides training programmes for individuals and employers. The finding are based on analysis of a new Eurofound “Quality of Life in the EU 2024” survey. The data…

Advertised rents rose by an average of 5.7% last year, according to the latest report by property listings website Daft.ie. The rate of increase is marginally slower than the 6.8% rise recorded in 2023. The average rent on the open market nationally is €1,956 which is 43% higher than before the outbreak of Covid-19 in…

Occupancy rates in Irish hotels fell last year, while forward room bookings for 2025 are €100m lower than they were at this stage 12 months ago. Those are the some of the findings of a survey conducted this month by the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) among 195 of its members. In 2024, its says average…