No change to Central Bank’s mortgage lending rules
The Central Bank has decided not to make any changes to mortgage lending rules here that limit how much people can borrow from banks in order to fund house purchases. Following a review, the regulator has concluded that the measures continue to meet their objectives of strengthening bank and borrower resilience. It also said the […]
First-time buyers drive demand for mortgage approvals
New figures from Banking & Payments Federation Ireland show strong growth in mortgage approvals figures for October, driven by demand from first-time buyers. The BPFI figures show that a total of 4,514 mortgages were approved in October . Of these 51.6% were for first-time buyers while mover purchasers accounted for 27%. BPFI also said that […]
Contactless payments grow steadily; BPFI
Consumers made almost 1.5 million contactless payments a day between July and end-September, according to figures from the Banking & Payments Federation. Contactless payments are those where consumers ‘tap’ their cards or devices and make payment without inputting a code on the payment device. The number of such payments grew by 44% year on year […]
Contactless payments grow steadily; BPFI
Consumers made almost 1.5 million contactless payments a day between July and end-September, according to figures from the Banking & Payments Federation. Contactless payments are those where consumers ‘tap’ their cards or devices and make payment without inputting a code on the payment device. The number of such payments grew by 44% year on year […]
Economic growth stretching services – Ibec
The employers’ group Ibec has warned that bottlenecks in transport, housing and childcare are making it more difficult for companies to hire and retain workers. In its latest Quarterly Economic Outlook, Ibec says it expects the economy to grow at a more moderate pace in the coming years. The employers’ group expects the economy to […]
Economic growth stretching services – Ibec
The employers’ group Ibec has warned that bottlenecks in transport, housing and childcare are making it more difficult for companies to hire and retain workers. In its latest Quarterly Economic Outlook, Ibec says it expects the economy to grow at a more moderate pace in the coming years. The employers’ group expects the economy to […]
Highest weekly earnings in ICT sector – CSO
Average weekly earnings in the economy grew by 3.4% in the year to the end of September, according to the Central Statistics Office. Average earnings in the private sector grew by 3.9% while earnings in the public sector grew by 1.3%. The highest average weekly earnings were in the information and communications sector at €1,255.49 […]
State fund loses €750k due to ‘human error’
A State fund set up to support jobs in Ireland lost €750,000 on an investment because of a human error which wrongly categorised the money as euro when it should have been in dollars. When the rate of exchange moved against the State body it lost thousands because it failed to put in place a […]
Dublin businesses face rate hike over funding row
Businesses in Dublin city could be facing a big rate increase if the Government refuses to compromise on a funding row with the city council. The issue centres on the loss of €8.4m because of a change to rate liabilities for Irish Water facilities. Last week councillors refused to pass a number of measures including reduced community funding, […]
Brexit hiatus lifts consumer and business confidence
Progress towards the achievement of a Brexit resolution has lifted consumer confidence this month, new research has found. But the Bank of Ireland Economic Pulse for November also recorded that despite the brighter consumer mood, Brexit uncertainty continues to weigh on businesses’ investment plans. The index, a composite of separate measures of consumer and business […]