Author Archives: splash

Drawdown of car loans hits record high in first quarter

Strong demand for cars helped drive volumes in the personal loans market during the first three months of the year. New data released by the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland shows 16,089 car loans valued at €208m were approved over the quarter, an increase of 6.1% in volume and 10.7% in value. That drove the […]

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Higher VAT rate for hospitality to remain – Minister

The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has said the higher VAT rate for hospitality will remain, despite claims by the Restaurants Association of Ireland that hundreds of businesses are closing as a result. Paschal Donohoe said the lower 9% VAT rate, reintroduced during the Covid-19 pandemic, was only ever meant to be temporary. “I […]

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Annual inflation flat at 2.2% in July – CSO

The annual rate of inflation came in at 2.2% in July, new figures from the Central Statistics Office show today, unchanged from a month earlier. The CSO said that inflation, as measured by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), which strips out mortgage interest costs, was unchanged at 1.5% year-on-year, in line with flash […]

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Concern over lack of properties to rent under HAP scheme

A total of 43 properties within the discretionary rate of the Housing Assistance Payment were available to rent in June this year, according to the latest quarterly Simon Communities’ Locked out of the Market report. It is an increase of five properties – or 13% – since March 2024. In 16 areas surveyed by the […]

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IFAC says Exchequer figures show strong economy but risks remain

The amount of tax collected by the State during the first seven months of the year was up 9.5% on the same period last year, driven by income tax, corporation tax, VAT and excise duty. The Exchequer returns for July, released yesterday, show that during that month alone, €7.6 billion in tax was taken in, […]

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31,384 new residential addresses recorded in year to June

A total of 31,384 new residential addresses were recorded over the year to June. GeoDirectory, which records the data, said this represents a 17.1% increase on the same point a year ago. The highest proportion of the new homes were in Dublin, making up a third of the total, followed by Cork, Meath and Kildare. […]

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Stocks sink with bond yield and dollar on recession fears

Global equities suffered heavy losses today as Wall Street joined a global stock rout that started in Japan while the dollar tumbled against the yen and US Treasury yields dropped on concerns about a recession in the United States. Oil prices also fell in a volatile session today, hit by recession fears, but declines were […]

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