The Government’s planned budgetary package risks keeping inflation higher for longer, the Central Bank of Ireland has warned. Proposed changes to income tax and spending increases above the 5 per cent spending rule, were likely to “amplify demand in an economy already operating at capacity”, the bank said in its latest quarterly bulletin. Eoin Burke-Kennedy reports. The warning comes as the Central Bank downgraded the nation’s economic growth forecasts.
Eoin also reports that higher mortgage costs are continuing to take the heat out of the property market with prices rising at an annualised rate of just 1.5 per cent in July, with Dublin prices dropping the most in three years.
Local radio stations will have to sign up to new commitments on Irish language programmes when their licences are being renewed, the media regulator has decided. John Burns has the story.
In her column, Bernice Harrison looks at the new road safety campaign, and if marketing drive to reduce road deaths can work.
The Government should increase the tax-free threshold of its rent-a-room scheme from the current level of €14,000 in order to combat the State’s growing accommodation crisis, according to most respondents to a survey carried out by Taxback.com. Joe Brennan reports.
Cantillon assesses the increasing politicisation of the Budget, while also looking at what lies ahead for Kingspan’s planned takeover of Nording Waterproofing.
Grocery price inflation has fallen to its lowest level in a full year and has now declined for the fourth successive month, with retail analysts Kantar suggesting the rate of price growth will ease further as the year comes to an end. Conor Pope reports.
Food group Glanbia has signed up as the lead sponsor of Kilkenny’s camogie team, having previously backed the team under the Avonmore brand, which is now under different ownership. Ciaran Hancock has the details.
Wine sales in the Republic remained below pre-pandemic levels last year as per capita consumption continued to fall in line with a general trend towards more moderate drinking. Ian Curran has the story.
Four shareholders of a liquidated company must now pay a combined income tax bill of €1.56 million after they lost an 11-year-long tax battle with Revenue Commissioners concerning a €7.59 million payout arising from the voluntary liquidation of the company at the Tax Appeals Commission. Gordon Deegan has read the commission’s report.
Dublin-based agricultural technology company Micron Agritech has raised €2.7 million in funding. Colin Gleeson reports.
Colin also reports that Irish oil explorer Petrel Resources incurred a loss of €164,206 in the six months to end of June as the company warned of “significant doubt” on its ability to continue as a going concern.
In Your Money, Fiona Reddan details how you can maximise returns on your savings, while Dominic Coyle looks at the options available to boost savings for a grandchild.
In Me & My Money, screenwriter Susan E Connolly talks through her finances.
Finally StockTake looks at should Smurfit Kappa shareholders be celebrating its planned takeover of WestRock.
Stay up to date with all our business news: sign up to our Business Today daily email news digest. If you’d like to read more about the issues that affect your finances try signing up to On the Money, the weekly newsletter from our personal finance team, which will be issued every Friday to Irish Times subscribers.
The Government faces a “mammoth task” getting its landmark auto-enrolment (AE) pension scheme up and running by the end of next year, according to the head of insurance brokerage Aon Ireland, which runs the largest employee benefits consultancy in the State. “With currently 750,000 workers in the country having no private pension, auto-enrolment is absolutely the right thing to do. But it’s going to be a huge uphill struggle to get it in place by the end of next year, in my personal view,” Aon Ireland chief executive Rachael Ingle said. Joe Brennan has the details.
I don’t remember, writes Pilita Clark, exactly when the thought struck me but at some point this year I realised that if employers did an audit to see how many of their staff were trying to work while taking care of an ageing relative, the results would be stunning. Almost overnight it seemed every second person I knew in their 40s or 50s was struggling to fit caring duties into a busy day job, with highly mixed results.
Irish commercial construction activity slowed in August to levels last seen in early 2021, when the industry was hit by Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, according to a new report. The latest BNP Paribas Real Estate Ireland construction purchasing managers survey showed that the contraction of commercial activity dragged on wider construction activity in the State. Joe Brennan reports.
Irish companies wishing to demonstrate their sustainability credentials and legitimacy, and to stand out amid “greenwashing noise”, should secure “B Corp” status, according to environmental consultant Dr Tara Shine of Change by Degrees, writes Kevin O’Sullivan. The Irish sustainability consultancy has joined the B Corp community of businesses committed to the highest standards of social and environmental impact. In gaining certification the Kinsale-based company founded by Dr Shine and Madeleine Murray joins 20 B Corp companies in Ireland. B Corp certificates are awarded by B Lab, a global non-profit organisation.
Budget 2024 should mark the first step in building out a better economic model, predicated on inclusive and sustainable improvements in living standards. It should not be a tax cutting budget, argues Own Reidy, general secretary of Ictu. Proposed cuts to income tax rates or bands and to the Universal Social Charge have all been flagged in the media. Such moves would be extremely regressive. The evidence is clear that higher income households will disproportionately benefit from such changes.
AIB has warned customers to beware of a number of new investment scams in circulation targeting people in the Republic, where the names and job titles of genuine bank staff are used by fraudsters to entice individuals to part with their money. Most of these scams bear similar hallmarks with minor variations, with fraudsters contacting individuals purporting to offer investment products often from legitimate, well-known names in financial services, the bank said. Joe Brennan reports.
Dominic Coyle’s Q&A on personal finance deals with this question: “I know from reading your articles that one can effectively gift €3,000 per year to a grandchild without any tax consequences for either party. Obviously, this requires a bank or credit union account. Can a grandparent open up an account for a grandchild?”
After attending the glitzy launch of Apple’s new iPhone 15 range in California, Irish Times business and technology journalist Ciara O’Brien joins Inside Business host Ciaran Hancock to pore over the incremental changes in the company’s new handsets. They are lighter, stronger and have a better camera, but with the iPhone 15 Pro starting at €1,239, are they worth the money? Plus, we go to journalist Hugo McCafferty in Italy to hear how a blue crab invasion is wreaking havoc on the seafood industry there.
Stay up to date with all our business news: sign up to our Business Today daily email news digest. If you’d like to read more about the issues that affect your finances try signing up to On the Money, the weekly newsletter from our personal finance team, which will be issued every Friday to Irish Times subscribers.
House prices in Dublin fell at the fastest annual rate in nearly three years in June, with higher interest rates curbing affordability, writes Eoin Burke-Kennedy, who notes that prices nationally have also slowed considerably.
Bank of Ireland has assured customers there is no such thing as free money after the tech glitch that downed the bank’s app and online service while allowing people take money they didn’t even have out of their accounts. Meanwhile, the Central Bank is looking for answers on what went wrong.
Conor Pope tries to answer most of the questions the bizarre incident threw up in a Q&A.
Pepper Finance has been told it cannot pursue a Limerick man over a debt of €646,000 that was among a package of loans it acquired from ACCBank, even though the bank secured a court judgment for the sum over 10 years ago. Ellen O’Riordan was in court to hear why.
Glanbia boss Siobhán Talbot has announced she is stepping down at the end of the year but she’s going out on high as the group reported higher interim earnings and upgraded full-year profit forecasts for the second time this year. Eoin Burke-Kennedy and Ciara O’Brien report.
Planners have approved a proposal for an 8,047-plot cemetery on the former golf course at Citywest Hotel in a move that could be worth €20 million to a subsidiary of Tetrarch Capital, writes Ciarán Hancock.
Pub group Wetherspoon is refusing to back down in a planning battle over a proposed sound barrier at its Camden Street operation that one local resident described as being “taller than the Berlin Wall”.
Car parks operator Q-Park has been given the green light by competition authorities to acquire rival Park Rite subject to a number of conditions.
With school holidays in full swing, it’s a busy time down at Center Parcs in Longford. Results for the Irish business show profit more than doubled in the 12 months to the end of April with an occupancy rate just shy of 98 per cent. Gordon Deegan has the details.
Card spending was down in July but the miserable weather was good news for cinemas where ticket sales more than doubled, according to an AIB report. Hotels and ticket sellers also benefited, with demand for top name concerts evident in the data.
One quarter of parents surveyed say they cannot afford electronic devices their children are expected to have for school and have had to seek financial aid, writes Ciara O’Brien.
In Technology, Karlin Lillington oozes derision at media held rapt by the ridiculous social media posturing over a cage fight that was never going to happen between Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter/X’s Elon Musk.
Ciara O’Brien looks at an Irish Covid-era start-up that combines artificial intelligence and human feedback to monitor your glucose levels, helping you to make better diet choices.
And Neil Briscoe is also preoccupied with artificial intelligence in Innovation where he considers the prospects of AI selling people second-hand cars and ponders what that might mean for the motor industry.
Stay up to date with all our business news: sign up to our Business Today daily email news digest. If you’d like to read more about the issues that affect your finances try signing up to On the Money, the weekly newsletter from our personal finance team, which will be issued every Friday to Irish Times subscribers.
The Irish commercial investment property market came to a “near standstill” in the second quarter, which was the weakest for six years, according to a new report by BNP Paribas. Laura Slattery has the details.
The number of people with high interest rate home loans stuck in investment funds who could actually switch to banks offering lower rates is far less than the 54,000 suggested by the Central Bank, according to a leading mortgage specialist. Conor Pope has the story.
Laura also reports that RDS chief executive Geraldine Ruane has stepped down from her role, the board of the Dublin events venue has announced. The move comes after days of speculation about her position.
Working from home has been one of the biggest changes since the start of the pandemic. Pilita Clarke looks at what happens now as companies try to get workers back to the office.
Aer Lingus has reopened its pilots training programme after a four year break, as the carrier forges ahead.
Revolut will offer car insurance to motorists in the Irish market after agreeing a partnership with insurance giant AIG. Laura reports. The fintech, one of Europe’s most valuable, company will offer the chance to buy Revolut car insurance to 3,000 customers from today and then roll out the product to all customers in the coming months, it said.
As we grapple with the green transition, Brooke Masters looks at how retrofitting existing buildings may be cheaper, and more effective, than replacing them entirely with new builds.
McKinsey chief Bob Sternfels has signalled he plans to run for a second term as managing partner as he rebuilds the consultancy after years of reputational crises and as the firm battles mounting economic and geopolitical challenges.
Finally, as the ECB hikes interest rates, banks have been passing on much of those increases to borrowers. Robert Whelan of Rockwell Financial says its now time for savers to get those increases too.
Stay up to date with all our business news: sign up to our Business Today daily email news digest. If you’d like to read more about the issues that affect your finances try signing up to On the Money, the weekly newsletter from our personal finance team, which will be issued every Friday to Irish Times subscribers.