News

Retail sales volumes grew 3.3% in June compared to the previous month after restaurants and bars were allowed to serve customers outdoors for the first time this year. Sales were 10.6% higher than the same month a year ago, when stricter curbs were in place, and 13% up on pre-pandemic levels in June 2019. Non-essential…

The number of people receiving the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) is now at its lowest level since the introduction of the Government support in March 2020. There will be 192,296 people receiving the PUP this week, a drop of 9,856 over the past seven days. The largest reduction was in the accommodation and food services…

The national organisation promoting and developing co-operative housing in Ireland said it delivered 454 homes last year, despite the challenges posed by Covid-19. Co-operative Housing Ireland said that represented an increase of over a fifth on the previous year and that it was a record number of housing deliveries for the organisation. The outcome was…

Regime will require firms to set out who makes decisions and where responsibility lies It may be a further 18 months before long-planned new rules are in place to make it easier for regulators to hold senior managers in banks and other financial firms accountable for failings under their watch, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe…

The number of claims made to the Personal Injuries Assessment Board decreased last year, mainly as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, while there was also a reduction in the level of awards paid out to claimants. The latest annual report by Personal Injuries assessment board – the state body which assesses personal injury compensation…

The number of mortgages being approved and drawn down continue to rise, according to the latest figures from Banking and Payment Federation Ireland. In the month of June, 5,203 mortgages were approved, an increase of over 11% on the previous month and a rise of almost 130% on the same month last year. First-time buyers…

Loan approvals by Home Building Finance Ireland – the Government initiative set up to fund the delivery of new homes – amounted to €539m by the end of the first half of this year. That represented a 36% increase on the €395m total approvals at the end of last year. HBFI has now committed just…

Indoor dining in restaurants and cafes resumes today for the first time since last December, with many pubs not having opened their doors since March last year when Covid restrictions came into effect. People who are fully vaccinated or who have recovered from Covid-19 in the past six months will be allowed to avail of…

Consumer and business sentiment, as measured by Bank of Ireland’s Economic Pulse, dipped slightly in July but was well up on the situation a year ago. At 89.3, the headline figure also remained above its pre-pandemic level. The Delta variant of Covid, as well as the delay to the resumption of indoor hospitality may have…

Restaurants, cafés and bars can reopen their doors for indoor eating and drinking today, operating under strict new public health regulations. Operational guidelines for the hospitality industry were updated by Fáilte Ireland last night. While businesses providing indoor hospitality are being asked to implement specified protective measures, customers will also be asked to play their…