News

A report on defective apartments built during the boom years will not recommend a levy on the construction sector to help the State meet the bill for repairs. The independent review, commissioned by Minister for Housing, Darragh O’Brien last year, says an industry levy would target those who did not cause the defects, would face…

A slowdown may already be under way in certain sectors of the domestic economy, according to Ibec. In its latest economic quarterly outlook, the business group says shifts in global capital markets and ongoing increases in commodity prices – especially energy – are undermining the recovery seen in the first half of the year. “Leading…

The European Commission is expected next week to ask EU countries to reduce heating and cooling of public buildings and offices to cut demand for gas. This is according to a document seen by AFP. In order to better withstand the drastic fall in Russian gas supplies, which could be cut off altogether, the commission…

The global average cost of a data breach has hit a record high of $4.35 million, an increase of almost 13% over the last two years. The annual ‘Cost of a Data Breach Report’ from IBM Security also reveals that it is often consumers who have to pay the price of cybercrime with 60% of…

The International Monetary Fund cut global growth forecasts again today, warning that downside risks from high inflation and the Ukraine war were materialising and could push the world economy to the brink of recession if left unchecked. Global real GDP growth will slow to 3.2% in 2022 from a forecast of 3.6% issued in April,…

The latest figures from the Banking & Payments Federation on the mortgage market point to a substantial increase in mortgage switching activity in recent months. The volume of approvals in this category was up over 150% year on year in June to 1,789 mortgages, the BPFI calculates. Boosted by this increased switching activity, the number…

House hunters have €27,000 less spending power than a year ago, according to daftmortgages.ie. The website analysed the buying plans of over 170,000 people preparing for a mortgage and it found that the typical mortgage seeker now has €11,000 (15%) less savings to put towards a deposit than mortgage seekers in the same position a…

Dublin Port volumes recovered strongly in the first half of 2022 with growth of 10.1% to 18.6 million tonnes. In trading figures out today, it said container and trailer volumes are now less than 1% behind the record pre‑pandemic and pre-Brexit levels of 2019. The number of ship arrivals increased by 150 to 3,694 versus…

Google, Enterprise Ireland and the Local Enterprise Offices have partnered to launch a new digital training scheme for SMEs. The ‘You’re the Business’ scheme provides online training and resources for all Irish SMEs to help them get online, to grow their digital footprint and expand internationally. A recent study from Google, developed in partnership with…

Iarnród Éireann will lodge plans this week for the extension of the electrified DART network from the Connolly/Spencer Dock area to west of Maynooth and on to the M3 Parkway in Co Meath. The company said it will deliver a more sustainable transport option for a number of communities, such as Maynooth, Leixlip and Castleknock.…