Business News

The manufacturing sector experienced some renewed headwinds in September which saw the index going back into contractionary mode having bounced back in August. The headline AIB Ireland Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index – a composite single-figure indicator of manufacturing performance – fell to 49.6 in September from the six month high of 50.8 recorded in August.…

The Irish property market is experiencing a rebound with a period of falling house prices – seen in the early months of 2023 – coming to an end as the year entered its second half. The latest report from the property website MyHome.ie captured asking price inflation nationally running at an annual pace of just…

The Government is urging companies to make their annual return filings early ahead of the peak filing period next month, following the introduction of new identification requirements for directors. Around 80,000 businesses will be due to file their returns to the Companies Registration Office (CRO) by November 25 this year. But as that date falls…

Inflation is estimated to have risen to an annual rate of 5% in September, according to the latest “flash” estimate from the Central Statistics Office. This compares to 4.9% in August and marks the second month in a row that inflation has risen. Inflation is estimated to have risen marginally by 0.1% from August to…

Demand for property is holding up, despite interest rate increases, and an ongoing supply shortage is supporting prices, the latest House Price Report from property listings website daft.ie suggests. The report captured a 1.1% increase in asking prices for properties in the three months to September compared to the prior three month period. In the…

There was a huge drop in the number of people switching their mortgages in August compared to the same time last year, new figures show. The latest report from Banking and Payments Federation Ireland reveals an almost 80% drop in switching and remortgage activity. Just over 300 mortgages were approved for this group in August,…

The Minister for Finance has said there appears to be a “levelling-off” of the growth in corporation tax compared to the extraordinary levels in recent years. Michael McGrath made his remarks in his opening address to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Budgetary Oversight. His colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan and Reform,…

Representatives of the country’s main banks have defended their policies around the passing on of interest rate increases to customers when they appear before an Oireachtas committee later. In opening statements delivered at the Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach, Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) claimed banks have taken a balanced…

The National Competitiveness and Productivity Council has published its annual Challenge Report, which outlines some of the key issues facing the economy. Chair of the Council Dr Frances Ruane said “failure to develop and implement appropriate policies now to address new developments, including decarbonisation and tipping points in digital technologies, could leave Ireland in a…

There has been a notable increase in the number of domestic electricity customers falling into arrears since the end of the Government’s Emergency Electricity Credit in March, according to an updated report from the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU). The numbers of domestic gas customers falling into arrears has also been rising. Disconnections for…