Business group Ibec has downgraded its forecast for domestic demand due to rising costs and a weaker outlook for the global economy. In its latest Quarterly Economic Outlook, Ibec said domestic demand will grow by 3% in 2023, a downgrade from close to 4% in its previous set of forecasts in July 2022. The report…
New research from Banking & Payments Federation Ireland reveals that 64% of consumers have carried out at least one significant energy efficiency home improvement as energy costs continue to jump. Today’s research, carried out by Amárach, shows that 42% of consumers are planning to do at least one energy efficiency home improvement in the next…
Minister for Public Expenditure Michael McGrath said the Government is “avoiding making permanent expenditure commitments” on the back of receipts that may “prove to be temporary”. The Minister’s comments follow the release of the latest Exchequer figures yesterday which show more than €16 billion in corporate tax receipts were collected up to the end of…
Irish households added €32 billion to their wealth last year, according to the Central Statistics Office. That is almost the same amount added to household wealth between 2017 and 2019. It came as average households here continued to save a significant proportion of their incomes, while wages also increased. According to the CSO household net…
The Central Bank of Ireland is hosting a major conference this week to discuss and debate the driving forces shaping the financial system. Over 300 consumer representatives, industry leaders, and international policymakers will gather in Dublin today and tomorrow to discuss some of the key opportunities and challenges facing the system, including consumer protection, climate…
One in eight consumers who are in the position of having to switch banking providers, because of the impending departure of Ulster Bank and KBC, have yet to decide on a new provider. That compares to one in four in July. The latest round of research from the Consumer and Competition Protection Commission found that…
The Government has announced that a new law designed to protect tips received by workers will come into effect on 1 December. The Payment of Wages Act gives employees a legal entitlement to receive tips and gratuities paid in electronic form and requires that this money should be paid to workers in a manner that…
Business sentiment fell to a near-two year low in October, according to Bank of Ireland’s latest economic pulse survey. The business reading stood at 64.2 in the month, down 13.6 points on September. It came as a result of weakening sentiment in the services, retail and industry sectors, as demand softened and uncertainty increased. However…
The average mortgage stood at €284,623 in the third quarter of the year, surpassing levels seen during the peak of the market in 2008 when it was €268,220. “This comes on the back of strong house prices inflation and the continuing challenge of supply in the housing market,” said Brian Hayes, Chief Executive, Banking &…
The main retail banks have said they will be writing to their tracker mortgage customers to inform them of their new interest rates, following today’s rate hike by the European Central Bank. This afternoon the ECB raised rates by a further 0.75% in its third hike this year. This means mortgage repayments for those on…