Consumer sentiment suffered its largest monthly drop on record in April, a survey showed today, demonstrating the scale and speed of the economic collapse unleashed by the coronavirus pandemic. Restaurants, bars and non-essential retail outlets have been closed in stay-at-home restrictions put in place on March 29. These restrictions are due to run until at…
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The country’s five retail banks may extend loan repayment breaks to help homeowners cope with the impact of the coronavirus to six months from the three months currently in place, the head of their representative body has said. The banks agreed the measure in the middle of last month and had granted or were close…
Former IMF deputy director general Donal Donovan said he believes it is possible for a “fairly quick rebound” once the coronavirus crisis passes and confidence returns to the Irish economy. Mr Donavan said that this crisis is quite unlike the situation in 2008/2009, when banks went bust, the construction industry collapsed and there was huge…
The Covid-19 unemployment payments will cost the Government just under €5bn for three months, according to an analysis by the Economic and Social Research Institute. The ESRI also warns that the cap on higher earners in the wage subsidy scheme may encourage firms to lay off those employees rather than retaining them. The Government has introduced…
The International Monetary Fund has announced immediate debt relief for 25 poor countries to help them free up funds to fight the coronavirus pandemic. “This provides grants to our poorest and most vulnerable members to cover their IMF debt obligations for an initial phase over the next six months and will help them channel more…
More than 45,000 mortgage payment breaks have been or are about to be given to borrowers suffering financial difficulty as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) this represents approximately 5% of the total mortgage market here. The initiative is being operated by all five of the…
The insurance industry has announced a suite of measures aimed at helping personal and business customers through the difficulties posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. They include a reduction in premiums for business customers that will reflect the reduced level of exposure they have as a result of the restrictions as well as flexibility for those…