Archive for May 2020
Government to bring pandemic payment changes to Dáil next week
Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection Regina Doherty has told the Dáil she will bring forward proposals for some changes to the Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment within the next week or so. She said that the Government is reviewing the nature of the payment. Ms Doherty reiterated that the Pandemic Unemployment Payment and the…
Read MoreRevenue notifies 3,000 taxpayers of text scam
Fraudsters may have accessed thousands of taxpayers’ Revenue accounts using information provided by them unwittingly. Revenue has written to around 3,000 taxpayers advising them that their myAccount may have been accessed as part of a scam which was sent via text message. Revenue’s Chief Information Officer, John Barron, explained that Revenue constantly monitors for suspect…
Read MoreTransport and accommodation spending see biggest ever drops
New figures from the Central Bank show that the total value of card transactions (including ATM transactions) decreased by 35% in April – the biggest annual decline recorded since the series began. Today’s figures are the Central Bank’s first statistics to capture a full month of data where the Covid-19 emergency containment measures were in…
Read MoreEU Commission proposes €750 billion coronavirus recovery fund
The European Commission has proposed a recovery fund of €750 billion, which it says is designed to repair the economic damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic. According to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the money would be disbursed via grants and loans, with the commission using the EU budget as leverage to raise…
Read MoreFoodservice industry could see €5 billion drop in spending
An assessment of consumer spending on food outside the home, such as in restaurants, has found that the sector could fall in value by as much as €5 billion this year as a result of Covid-19. Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board, has published a paper which sets out the best and worst case…
Read MoreEnd of June application deadline for bank repayment break – BPFI
Bank customers who require a break from repaying their mortgages or loans because of the impact the Covid-19 crisis is having on their finances will have to apply for one by 30 June, the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland has said. The BPFI said the deadline has been set by the European Banking Authority. As…
Read MoreCoronavirus to hit supply of new housing, I-RES REIT warns
The State’s largest property owner, Irish Residential Properties REIT, said today that the overall supply of new housing and apartments is expected to be impacted by the ongoing restrictions due to Covid-19. In a statement issued ahead of its AGM today, it said it continued to add to its portfolio with the addition of 73 new apartments…
Read MoreSignificant stimulus plan needed to revive economy after Covid-19 – IFAC
The Government has been advised to introduce a “significant” stimulus plan for the economy, once the immediate Covid-19 crisis is over. However, the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (IFAC|) has also warned that “all options must be kept on the table”, including spending cuts and tax rises to bring the public finances back in line once…
Read MoreTrips to and from Ireland slump by 99% in April – CSO
New figures from the Central Statistics Office show “an unprecedented collapse” in overseas travel to and from Ireland in April as the effects of the Covid-19 crisis deepened. The CSO reported just 16,100 arrivals in April and 17,800 departures. This compares with monthly travel of more than 1.7 million in each direction the same time…
Read MoreEconomic confidence up in May but remains weak overall
Consumer and business sentiment rose slightly in May, albeit from a low base according to the latest Pulse survey from Bank of Ireland. Consumer confidence was up marginally in the month, while all sectors of business saw an improvement. That came as improving data on the number of Covid-19 cases in Ireland continued to improve,…
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