Archive for October 2022

The main retail banks have said they will be writing to their tracker mortgage customers to inform them of their new interest rates, following today’s rate hike by the European Central Bank. This afternoon the ECB raised rates by a further 0.75% in its third hike this year. This means mortgage repayments for those on…

The euro briefly fell back below parity with the dollar today after the European Central Bank (ECB) raised interest rates, and US data showed that the world’s biggest economy rebounded more than expected in the third quarter. The ECB raised its deposit rate by 0.75% to 1.5%, the highest since 2009, in an effort to…

The cost of average private rents jumped 84% in the nine years to last year, new research from the Economic and Social Research Institute has found. The study found from 2012 to 2021, average rent rose from €589 to €1,084 per month. The analysis concluded that this has led to a substantial decrease in housing…

The European Central Bank is on course to raise interest rates again today. We’ve been looking at why the bank has been raising rates and how far they’re likely to go today – and in the months ahead – and what that will mean for Irish borrowers. Why are interest rates rising? In a word,…

The number of residential units which have commenced construction fell last month, according to the latest figures from the Department of Housing. In September, the Department received commencement notices for 2,211 units, down 31% on the 3,203 commencements notified the same month last year. 605 units were started in Dublin local authority areas and 1,219…

The European Central Bank’s (ECB) governing council meets today in Frankfurt amid speculation it will announce another 0.75% increase in interest rates. The ECB has already increased rates twice this year, a half a percentage point in July and three quarters of a percentage point in September. Market analysts widely expect rates to be increased…

Applications open today for the fourth round of the Sport to Start-Up programme. The online course aims to help full time Irish sports people start their own business while still competing or training. It is an initiative of the Local Enterprise Offices, and is funded by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment through Enterprise…

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that Irish ports handled a total of 13.1 million tonnes of goods in the second quarter of 2022, an increase of 1% compared with the same time last year. A total of 3,085 vessels arrived in the seven main Irish ports – Bantry, Cork, Drogheda, Dublin, Rosslare,…

Tightening markets for liquefied natural gas (LNG) worldwide and major oil producers cutting supply have put the world in the middle of “the first truly global energy crisis”. This is according to the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA). Rising imports of LNG to Europe amid the Ukraine crisis and a potential rebound in…

The Department of Finance has said Minister Paschal Donohoe recognises that restrictions on pay create recruitment and retention problems for banks, but that there are currently no plans for a change in policy. Chairman of Bank of Ireland Patrick Kennedy met Mr Donohoe in June to express concerns over the cap on bankers’ pay. According…