News

Gloomy outlook for global recovery, World Economic Forum survey finds

11th January 2022

Only one in 10 World Economic Forum members surveyed expects the global recovery to accelerate over the next three years, a poll of nearly 1,000 business, government and academic leaders found, with only one in six optimistic about the world outlook. Climate change was seen as the number one danger by respondents in the WEF’s…

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Govt to consider reducing back public servants’ hours to pre-July 2013 levels

11th January 2022

Thousands of public servants will have their working hours reduced back to lower pre-austerity levels from 1 July, if a recommendation made by an independent body examining the issue is accepted by the Government. Extra working hours were introduced for the public servants under the 2013 Haddington Road Agreement. The mechanism of additional hours was…

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Supermarket sales dip by 5.2% over Christmas period

11th January 2022

New figures show that the value of the grocery market declined by 5.2% to €3.1 billion during the 12 weeks to December 26 as the market faced a tough comparison against record sales in 2020. But Kantar said that sales have grown by 10.9% compared to the same time in 2019. A total of €1.1…

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Small firms have muted expectations for 2022 – SFA

10th January 2022

Confidence among small businesses took a hit amid a new round of restrictions on hospitality venues which were introduced just before Christmas. The Small Firms Association said that 41% saw the business environment improving in winter 2021 compared to 55% last Summer. Many businesses are also dealing with increased costs and supply chain delays, which…

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Poverty levels jump after households receiving subsidies pay rent – SJI study

10th January 2022

The poverty risk of households that are in receipt of housing subsidies is two and a half times greater after they have paid their rent, according to an analysis by the think tank Social Justice Ireland. In its report ‘Housing and Poverty 2022’, the group concludes that the practice of using housing subsidies to support…

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Spend in bars and on testing rose in December – Revolut

10th January 2022

Spending in bars rose 8% in December, despite the curbs put on socialising by Government Covid-19 restrictions. But the increase in hospitality spend also coincided with a massive jump in the amount spent on testing laboratories during the month, the figures from Revolut show. Spending on Covid testing by users of the online banking platform…

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Budget measures helping people cope with inflation – Donohoe

7th January 2022

The Minister for Finance says decisions made by the Government in last year’s budget will help individuals and households cope with the cost of inflation. Further decisions to reduce the price of energy bills will also assist the cost of living, he said. The annual rate of inflation rose to 5.3% in November, its highest…

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‘Exponential growth’ in customs declarations – Revenue

7th January 2022

2021 saw an “exponential growth” in the number of customs declarations, according to headline results published by Revenue today. New EU VAT rules, which came into effect in July, and an increase in e-commerce which began during the pandemic saw a fourteen-fold increase in declarations. Revenue reported that 25.4 million customs declarations were processed in…

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Deficit on course to fall to 2% of GDP

7th January 2022

The deficit in the state finances has fallen to as low as 2% of GDP for 2021, which would make it one of the smallest deficits in the OECD, according to Davy. The stockbroker’s chief economist Conall MacCoille bases his calculations on expectations that the general government deficit will come in just under €9 billion,…

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Coveney to meet UK’s new Brexit minister Liz Truss

6th January 2022

Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney will meet British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss in London this evening. It will be the first opportunity for the ministers to meet in person since Ms Truss took over Brexit responsibilities, as well as the Foreign Secretary role. The two have already held a long virtual meeting, which included…

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