The Government needs to scrap its plan for frontline pandemic bonus payments and a new bank holiday because it will burden future generations with increased debt, CEO of the Irish Small and Medium Business Association Neil McDonnell has said. The call came as a prominent Limerick-based economics professor labelled pandemic bonuses as a “bad idea”…

The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has said the National Development Plan (NDP), which will be announced later today, is the largest public capital investment programme in the history of the State in relation to transport and housing. Michael McGrath said “transformative change” is needed in the area of transport policy in Ireland. The…

Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe is due to meet with Executive Vice-President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager to discuss tax issues today. Mr Donohoe is also President of the Eurogroup. Mr Donohoe will also chair a meeting of the Finance Ministers of the euro area this afternoon in Luxembourg. The…

Growth in factory activity slipped to a six-month low in September but remained close to all-time highs with the sector showing signs of inflationary pressures, a survey showed today. The latest AIB IHS Markit manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) slipped to 60.3 in September from 62.8 in August and down from May’s record reading of…

More than half of businesses will see their cost of water increase from today, as a result of changes to the charging system. The balance of customers will see the amount they have to pay fall because of the alterations. Irish Water says the vast majority of customers will see either a decrease or an…

Forecasts for economic growth this year have been revised significantly upwards by the Department of Finance today. When measured by GDP, the department said the economy is forecast to grow this year by 15.6%. This is a revision upwards from just over 8.8% in the Summer Economic Statement. When measured by Modified Domestic Demand, which…

Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe has said that Ireland will enter the OECD’s global tax agreement if certainty and stability on corporation tax rates can be assured and if not “we will stay where we are”. Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Mr Donohoe said the coming week is a critical time in the negotiations as…

Almost half of Irish consumers believe the pandemic will have a lasting impact on their circumstances, according to the latest KBC Bank Ireland consumer sentiment index. One third of those consumers expect their circumstances to improve. The survey conducted in September included a special question intended to assess the extent to which Irish consumers felt…

An emergency measure that suspended the right of workers laid off by their employers during the Covid-19 pandemic to receive a redundancy payment will be removed after today. The development means tens of thousands of employee lay-offs could be crystallised, if employers are not in a position to take staff back or have not already….

The Living Wage should rise by 60 cents to €12.90 an hour, the group which calculates it has recommended. The increase is being driven by hikes in rents, transport and energy costs, according to the Living Wage Technical Group (LWTG). A Living Wage is intended to be a benchmark hourly rate that should provide employees…