Author Archives: splash

Budget measures to result in small income losses next year – ESRI

The measures announced in Budget 2026 will result in small income losses next year, according to an analysis from the Economic and Social and Research Institute. In its post-Budget briefing, the ESRI said the losses will average 2% of household disposable income. The organisation said the withdrawal of temporary cost-of-living measures is “responsible for much […]

Read More

Gold zooms past $4,000 for first time in historic flight to safety

Gold raced past $4,000 an ounce for the first time today as investors piled into a historic rally in the safe-haven asset to hedge against global economic and geopolitical uncertainties, while also betting on US interest rate cuts. Spot gold was up 1.3% at $4,034.73 per ounce today, while US gold futures for December delivery […]

Read More

Cost of petrol, diesel up as some Budget measures come into effect

Some Budget measures announced in the Dáil yesterday came into effect at midnight. Yesterday evening, TDs voted to reduce the VAT rate on the sale of completed apartments to 9% from 13.5%. Also from midnight, around two-and-a-half cent has been added to the cost of a litre of petrol and diesel, while tobacco products have […]

Read More

Housing asking price growth ‘softening’, report says

The pace of growth in asking prices for houses and apartments appears to be softening, according to the latest report from property website My Home in conjunction with Bank of Ireland. The report for the third quarter of 2025 said asking prices nationally are up 5.7% over the past year, rising by 4.8% in Dublin […]

Read More

Google launches new AI mode search tool in Ireland

Google has announced the rollout of its AI mode in Ireland. The company has described the new tool as its most powerful AI search experience with more advanced reasoning and multimodality. From today, AI mode will appear as a tab on the search results page and in the Google app for Android and iOS. Google […]

Read More

Government uses Budget tax changes to try to fix housing

This Budget has a lot of significant measures aimed at addressing the housing crisis. The largest step will be reducing the VAT on sale of apartments from 13.5% to 9%. The idea is that it would kick start stalled projects which have received planning but have not proceeded because they are not currently financially viable. […]

Read More

Cost of petrol, diesel up as some Budget measures come into effect

Some Budget measures announced in the Dáil yesterday came into effect at midnight. Yesterday evening, TDs voted to reduce the VAT rate on the sale of completed apartments to 9% from 13.5%. Also from midnight, around two-and-a-half cent has been added to the cost of a litre of petrol and diesel, while tobacco products have […]

Read More

Funding for TB eradication programme doubled in Budget

A total of €2.3bn has been allocated to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine for 2026. Aside from the €85m in additional funding for bovine TB eradication, there will be a €20m increase in spending on the ACRES scheme, with funding to reach €280m in 2026. The scheme supports over 53,000 farmers in […]

Read More