Author Archives: splash

Climate body recommends rise in grants to buy EVs

The Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC) is recommending that the Government provides an additional €10,000 in grants to low income households for the purchase of electric vehicles, particularly in areas with limited access to public transport. It is also calling for scrappage schemes and other transport-related incentives to help accelerate the switch to battery-electric vehicles […]

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Transatlantic airfares slump as Europeans skip US travel

Airfares from Europe to the United States have dropped to rates not seen since before the Covid-19 pandemic, as travellers from Western Europe lead a pullback in travel to the US that is expected to continue until at least next month. Overseas arrivals to the United States fell 2.8% in May from a year ago, […]

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Amazon’s corporate workforce may shrink as AI takes over routine tasks

Rollout of generative AI and agents will reduce Amazon’s total corporate workforce in the next few years, Andy Jassy, CEO of the online retailer has said in a note to employees. Artificial intelligence is reshaping the global workforce by automating routine and repetitive tasks, and industry leaders expect this to prompt a reduction or transformation […]

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Household saving rate slows to 14% in first quarter

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that households saved 14% of their income in the first three months of this year. This saving rate was down from 14.8% in the fourth quarter of 2024. The CSO said the saving adds to overall household wealth in the form of buying new homes, growing bank […]

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Minimum standard of living costs rise by almost 20% since 2020 – SVP

Essential minimum living costs increased by 1.8% in the past year with a cumulative increase of 18.8% nationally since 2020. The figures are contained in the annual Minimum Essential Standard of Living (MESL) report published by the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul. The research team found that households with older children (second-level age) were […]

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State sells final AIB shares 15 years after banking crisis

The State has sold its remaining shares in AIB, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said today. The State sold a 2.06% stake in AIB at a price of €6.94 per share. This will generate about €305.3m upon settlement and brings to €19.8 billion the total amount returned to the State to date from its investment […]

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ECB should neither signal pause nor rate cut, Nagel says

Euro zone inflation is now on target and no sustained undershooting is likely but the ECB should keep all of its options open for future policy moves amid exceptional uncertainty, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said today. The ECB has cut interest rates eight times since last June but signalled a pause in policy easing for […]

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Did Ireland’s ‘bad bank’ NAMA work?

At the height of the financial crisis in 2009 Ireland set up the National Asset Management Agency, better known as NAMA. Its purpose was to deal with the loans given by banks to developers and builders – many of which would never be repaid. By any measure, it was one of the biggest decisions in […]

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Fall in number of homes approved for planning permission

The number of homes approved for planning permission fell by 2.5% in the first three months of this year compared to the same period in 2024, according to the Central Statistics Office. The CSO said that in the first quarter of this year 8,177 homes were given the green light by planners compared to 8,387 […]

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