The News

Annual inflation rate rises to 2.2% in April – CSO

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that annual consumer prices rose to 2.2% in April from 2% a month earlier. The CSO said this marks the second month in a row where inflation has been at, or above, 2%. The CSO also said the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), which strips out […]

Read More

China’s exports top forecasts helped by foreign rush to beat tariffs

China’s exports topped forecasts in April, buoyed by demand for materials from overseas manufacturers who rushed out goods to make the most of US President Donald Trump’s 90-day tariff pause. The fortunes of trade-reliant businesses on both sides of the Pacific now hinge on talks between China and the US taking place in Switzerland this […]

Read More

Senior civil servants to highlight concerns over AI

Senior civil servants are to highlight concerns over the use of artificial intelligence in the public service at the annual conference of the Association of Higher Civil and Public Servants. Delegates will gather in Portlaoise to discuss a range of motions put forward by the union’s more than 4,000 managers across 50 branches in the […]

Read More

Taoiseach to discuss EU response to US tariffs with von der Leyen

Taoiseach Micheál Martin will meet the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels this morning. His visit coincides with the EU publishing its proposed countermeasures to US tariffs, which would be implemented if it proves impossible to reach a trade deal with the Trump administration. The agenda for this morning’s meeting […]

Read More

Faster housing delivery could mitigate impact of tariffs

Faster housing delivery could mitigate the impact of tariffs, according to the latest report from Davy. Updated forecasts from the Department of Finance show that economic growth will slow next year due to US tariffs. Davy believe that this presents a compelling rationale for the Government to use all available levers to accelerate housing and […]

Read More

Government publishes new AI guidelines for public service

The Government has published new guidelines for the responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the public service. The framework advises against the use of free generative AI (GenAI) models. This would include popular chatbot tools like ChatGPT and DeepSeek. “Free GenAI tools are very accessible but because they lack suitable management and oversight pose […]

Read More

Tax take to end of April up 15% on same time last year

Tax receipts for the first four months of the year are up 15.3% on the same time last year, the latest Exchequer Returns from the Department of Finance show. Today’s figures show that the tax take reached €28.6 billion at the end of April. When once-off tax revenues from the Apple tax case are excluded, […]

Read More

US, Chinese officials to hold trade talks in Switzerland

Senior US and Chinese officials will travel to Switzerland later this week to kickstart stalled trade talks following US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff rollout, according to statements from both countries. The talks mark the first official public engagement between the world’s two largest economies to resolve a trade war escalated by Mr Trump shortly […]

Read More

Motor insurance costs rose by 9% in first half of last year

The average cost of a motor insurance policy increased by 9% (€49) during the first half of last year, when compared with the first six months in 2023. Latest figures from the Central Bank’s National Claims Information Database show that the average premium increased from €567 to €616 over the period. This compares with an […]

Read More