Business News

Thousands of pensioners who are missing out on up to €35 a week because of an anomaly in the system are to be restored to a higher rate from March – but they won’t get the money until 2019. Ministers today approved a plan to appease older people who feel cheated by changes made to […]

Iceland has created 26 new jobs with the opening of its 20th store in Ireland. The food retailer opened the doors of its third store in Cork today, in the Eastside Retail Park, Main Street, Ballincollig. In 2017, Iceland announced that it had invested €12m into nine new shops, with more to be announced later […]

A rising tide lifts most boats, according to the latest International Monetary Fund forecasts, which saw upgrades for almost every major economy except the UK. In an update to its World Economic Outlook, the IMF lifted its global growth prediction to 3.9pc for both this year and next. That would be the strongest expansion since […]

Ireland has ranked eight out of the 29 advanced economies for inclusiveness, according to a report from the World Economic Forum (WEF). However the economic inclusion rate in Ireland has deteriorated. The report, which took into account the last five years, found that the 29 advanced economies included in the study have on average flatlined […]

Following what could be termed by many as a lost decade in a debt-laden eurozone, the medicine administered by the European Central Bank (ECB) has dragged the eurozone back from the brink, and ensured a smooth shifting through the economic gears. From a fresh position of strength, we expect growth in the eurozone to hit […]

Today the Government will unveil plans to enable local authority’s to provide mortgages to first-time buyers, but just who is entitled to apply and how much will be available? Who is entitled to apply for the local authority mortgages? First-time buyers that have had two insufficient offers or refusals for a mortgage from two lending […]

The European Central Bank’s tapering of its quantitative easing programme will not have a huge impact on the Irish economy, Fiscal Advisory Council chief Seamus Coffey has said. Despite the concerns of the Department of Finance and the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), Mr Coffey said a rise in interest rates could actually be […]

Borrowers have been warned that European interest rates are set to rise, but the increases will be gradual and it will be 2021 before they hit 1pc. This is good news for those on trackers, and people borrowing to buy homes now. European Central Bank rates are zero at the moment, but the ECB has […]

Borrowers have been warned that European interest rates are set to rise, but the increases will be gradual and it will be 2021 before they hit 1pc. This is good news for those on trackers, and people borrowing to buy homes now. European Central Bank rates are zero at the moment, but the ECB has […]

PRICES rose last month due to electricity suppliers and restaurants increasing their charges. Average prices were 0.4pc higher in December compared with the same month in the previous year. This was despite a slight fall in prices in the month of December, according to the Central Statistics Office. The annual rate of inflation rose due […]