Up to €5.4bn could be spend by consumers this Christmas, Retail Ireland has predicted. This works out at around €832 per household, the organisation claimed, and represents a 5% increase on what was spent last year. In total, the Christmas spend will be €1.58bn more than is spent during the other months of the year….
Tag Archives: Ireland’s economy
New figures from Banking Payments Federation Ireland show a slowdown in mortgage approvals in October both on a monthly and annual basis. BPFI said a total of 4,568 mortgages were approved in October, which marked a monthly fall of 4.2% and a yearly drop of 12.3%. Of these mortgages, 2,533 were for first time buyers,…
Most consumers want to take action on climate change, but believe it will cost them financially to do so. That’s according to new research by Permanent TSB and Kantar. It reveals that consumers want to see more financial incentives introduced, to help them transition to a more eco-friendly way of living. In particular, the research…
Retail sales fell by 1.7% in October compared to the previous month but were 9% up on pre-pandemic levels in the same time of 2019, new Central Statistics Office figures show today. The highest increases compared to 2019 levels were seen in the electrical goods, furniture and lighting and food, beverages and tobacco categories, which…
Consumer and business confidence dropped this month, amid rising Covid cases and Brexit setbacks. That is according to the latest Bank of Ireland Economic Pulse, which has fallen to its lowest reading in eight months. The survey gathers the views of households and businesses on topics such as finances, spending plans, house prices and business…
If you are a customer of Ulster Bank or KBC, you may want to start thinking about what bank you will switch to when they withdraw from the Irish market. While both banks say no action is required at the moment, it is worth being prepared well in advance of the closures. Ulster Bank has…
Ireland’s Skills Strategy is to be reviewed as part of a joint project between the state, stakeholders in the skills sector and the OECD. The review, led by the OECD, will focus on how Ireland is equipped to meet current and future skills needs as well as examining how businesses and employees can be supported…
Just over a quarter of first-time buyers of homes were aged 30 or under last year, according to an analysis of data carried out by the Banking and Payments Federation. That represents a halving of the proportion in 2004 when six in ten people taking out mortgages for the first time were in that age…
Euro zone governments should keep spending next year to help the post-pandemic recovery, though to different degrees depending on their debt level, the European Commission said today. They should also use cash from the EU’s recovery fund to boost investment, the Commission added. “For the euro area, we call for a moderately supportive fiscal stance…
A group of truckers and hauliers are leading convoys from the main motorways around Dublin into the city centre today, protesting for “lower fuel costs at the pump and at home”. The group, describing itself as Irish Truckers Haulage Association Against Fuel Prices, said it is protesting for “lower fuel costs at the pump and…