EU and UK negotiators will resume talks in London later today after both sides agreed to set out an intensified schedule of negotiations in the coming weeks. A joint statement issued last night effectively removed a threat by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to end the talks completely and to prepare the UK for a…

HALF of those claiming the pandemic unemployment payment will get a €50 increase in their payment bringing it to €350 a week. A total of 122,000 people will benefit from the hike in payment from next week. The top rate at the moment is €300 a week so the increase will mean they get an extra…

RTÉ is to make immediate arrangements to reinstate previously frozen incremental wage increases to affected staff, after accepting a recommendation of its internal Industrial Relations Tribunal. Earlier today, the IRT ruled that the broadcaster had been wrong to impose a unilateral freeze on increments, which unions argued was unfair as it had a disproportionate impact…

Britain has sovereign choices to make on Brexit and they will determine its future access to the EU’s internal market, European Council President Charles Michel has said. He suggested it was now up to the British government to break an impasse on negotiations. “The UK now has an important choice to make on its own future,”…

Senior European Union officials have said the EU is ready to intensify talks towards a deal on future trade ties with the UK after a meeting to discuss the existing Brexit agreement. European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic said that Britain had much work to do to honour commitments on the island of Ireland. He said…

Ireland is ranked in 14th place out of 39 countries in the 2020 Mercer Global Pensions Index despite the country’s underlying sustainability issue.  The Netherlands topped the index again this year despite significant pension reform currently under way there, but Ireland came ahead of countries such as Belgium, the UK, France, Spain and Austria.  Mercer…

Retailers have reacted with deep disappointment to the Government’s decision to close all non-essential retail as part of the move to Level 5. Retail Ireland described it as a serious blow and said there is very real concern that many vulnerable retail businesses will not survive. Business reaction to last night’s move by the Government…

The Tánaiste has indicated that the Government would review the plan to further reduce the Pandemic Unemployment Payment in January if the country is still in the teeth of the pandemic. Speaking during Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil, Leo Varadkar said the moving of Donegal, Monaghan and Cavan to Level 4 was a bitter blow to people there but…

Sterling weakened today as traders worried about the obstacles keeping the European Union and Britain from reaching a Brexit trade deal.  The pound has risen in recent sessions, propelled by a sense that Britain and the EU, whose leaders are meeting today, will secure a trade deal by December 2020, when Britain’s transition period after…

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will today set out his position on the future of the Brexit negotiations. Last night, there was a firm message from EU leaders in Brussels that the UK had to compromise on the key outstanding issues if there was to be an agreement. The UK’s chief negotiator David Frost said…