Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said Ireland may be close to the level “at which we can live with the virus”. He said the overriding imperative right now is to keep the virus suppressed to avoid “if possible” a second lockdown. The Tánaiste made his remarks at the Dublin Economics Workshop this afternoon. He said he did…

The Government has pumped too much cash to households during the Covid-19 crisis and should find a way to “extract” money that has ended up in savings accounts, according to the head of employers’ group Ibec. Ibec chief executive Danny McCoy told an event organised by the Dublin Economics Workshop that the best way to…

Britain today said it had secured its first major post-Brexit trade agreement – a free trade deal with Japan – the day after bitter wranglings with the European Union.  The Department for International Trade said the deal will increase trade with Japan by some £15.2 billion.  The UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement was agreed in…

The UK economy grew for a third month in a row in July as pubs, restaurants and other sectors reopened after the coronavirus lockdown, but it remained around 12% smaller than its pre-pandemic level.  After crashing by a record 20% in the second quarter, output expanded by 6.6% in July, slower than June’s monthly rate,…

The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has said government spending this year will be in the region of €86 billion, some €16 billion more than was planned in last year’s Budget. Michael McGrath said the current estimates process in the run up to the Budget is a “complex one”. He also said it was…

European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic said violating the Withdrawal Agreement would break international law and jeopardise trade deal talks, according to an EU statement. He told British Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove “in no uncertain terms” that the “timely and full implementation” of the divorce deal is “a legal obligation”. “Violating the terms of the…

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that consumer prices on average were 1% lower in August compared with the same month last year.  This marked the sharpest annual fall since 2010, when the economy was hit hard by the global financial crisis. Consumer prices have dropped on an annual basis for five months…

Weaknesses have been identified in a number of credit unions as part of a supervisory analysis conducted by the Central Bank. The difficulties, found as part of the fourth Credit Union Supervisory Commentary Report, were found in a number of risk categories, including governance and credit underwriting. “We acknowledge that some credit unions have made…

The euro zone economy declined by slightly less than initially estimated in the second quarter, but the drop was still the sharpest ever as consumer spending caved in due to Covid-19 restrictions.  Gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 11.8% from the previous quarter and by 14.7% year-on-year, data from the European statistics agency Eurostat showed…

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar says he does not believe a free trade agreement can be reached if the UK does not honour the UK EU Withdrawal Agreement. Mr Varadkar said he hopes that proposed new Brexit-related Westminster legislation is simply “sabre rattling”, adding that  the strategy and behaviour of…