Tag Archives: Ireland’s economy

Europe’s banks brace for bad debt build up from coronavirus crisis

Europe’s banks are expected to have to set aside billions for potential loan losses as well as take profit hits because of the coronavirus crisis when they start reporting results over the next two weeks. The region’s banks were already under pressure before the crisis with high costs, low returns, and demands to fix outdated…

Construction resumes on social housing projects

Construction is resuming on 35 social housing projects to ensure local authorities can deliver accommodation for people currently in emergency accommodation or at risk of homelessness during the current pandemic, the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government confirmed. However, the Construction Industry Federation has warned members that if they do not comply rigorously with…

Land prices fell by 6% last year as experts warn of negative Covid-19 impact

The price of agricultural land dropped by 6% last year, according to the latest review from the Society of Chartered Surveyors and Teagasc. The average price for an acre of land nationally was €8,823 in 2019, down from €9,346 in 2018. Munster recorded the biggest yearly fall in selling price at 9%, while selling prices…

Fuel prices are falling while everyone’s at home

The price of a litre of fuel has fallen significantly in recent weeks. However, with personal movement restricted to within a two kilometre radius of everyone’s home, the benefit of the price reduction is not being felt by many, other than those who need to carry out essential work. Why are prices falling and how…

House prices stable in February, before coronavirus disruption

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that residential property prices increased by 1.1% nationally in the year to February. The CSO said this compares with an increase of 1.1% in the year to January and an increase of 4.3% the same time last year. Today’s figures lag a coronavirus-related collapse in housing transactions….

Irish economy well placed to rebound from Covid-19 – Davy

A new report from stockbrokers Davy said that while the outbreak of Covid-19 presents significant challenges, Ireland’s economy should prove to be far more resilient relative to the rest of Europe than it did in the last downturn. The stockbrokers noted that recent years have been characterised by a lack of credit demand, mainly due to…

Energy consumption at home up as much as 20% since Covid-19 restrictions

Energy consumption in family homes is up between 11% and 20% as more people stay at home, according to a study from energy company Pinergy and property group Savills. The new study highlights the impact that the latest Covid-19 restrictions are having on changing patterns of energy consumption in the home. The study found that…

NTMA sells €750m of Treasury Bills in new auction

The National Treasury Management Agency today completed an auction of Irish Treasury Bills, selling the target amount of €750m. The NTMA said that total bids received for the Treasury Bills amounted to €2.305 billion which was over three times the amount on offer. The Treasury Bills, which have a maturity of six months, were sold…

Over half a million receive Covid Unemployment Support Payments

533,000 people have today been issued payments of the Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Support payment – up 26,000 on the figure a week ago, according to the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection. Around 54,000 of those are receiving payments for the first time. These Covid Pandemic payments first introduced on 16 March are in…

IMF: Irish economy set to return to growth next year

The International Monetary Fund is forecasting that Ireland’s economy will decline by 6.8% in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) terms this year, as a result of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The figure is contained in the IMF’s World Economic Outlook, published today. The IMF believes that unemployment in Ireland will average 12.1% this year and 7.9% in 2021….