Experts warn we may need to import workers
More apprenticeships will have to be created if industries expect to continue to prosper and meet demands, experts have warned.
The Construction Industry Federation (CIF) said if we don’t deal with the skills shortage issue now, we may have to “import skilled workers from abroad like we did in the past”.
The number of new apprentices being registered has been steadily increasing since 2012. The figure climbed to 2,100 last …
IBEC expects economy to grow and unemployment to fall
IBEC is forecasting strong growth in the Irish economy this year.
The employers group says it expects GDP to be 5.4%, up from its previous estimate of 4.8% at the end of last year.
It also says unemployment will fall below 9% in 2015.
Irish manufacturing output rose 32% in February
Further indications that the recovery in manufacturing is continuing apace in the early part of the year emerged yesterday as CSO data shed further light on the scale of increases in output.
Figures show output in the second month of the year was a massive 32% above levels recorded in the same period last year.
On a quarterly basis, output by Irish manufacturing firms climbed a more modest but still …
Irish mortgage holders await legislation
More than 18,000 mortgage holders are still awaiting clarification over the level of protection to be afforded them under proposed legislation as a row over the detail of the bill rumbles on.
The Consumer Protection Bill, which was drawn up after a lengthy consultation process, is intended to protect families whose mortgages have been bought by third parties.
After being bought by so-called vulture funds, the administration duties are often …
Ireland spent 37.3% of GDP on bank bailout costs
Ireland’s bank bailouts cost the country the equivalent of nearly 40% of its annual economic output, most of which it is unlikely to see again, new figures show.
The ECB publishedestimates of the direct cost to eurozone countries and Britain of supporting their financial sectors, chiefly banks, from 2008 to 2013, and how much of the money spent had gone into assets that might generate a return for governments.
Across …
Greece says ready to make IMF payment
Greece will repay a €450m loan tranche to the IMF today, seeking to quell fears of default after a flurry of contradictory statements on the issue in recent weeks.
Greece is fast running out of cash and its euro zone and International Monetary Fund lenders have frozen bailout aid until the new leftist-led government reaches agreement on a package of reforms.
That prompted the interior minister to suggest earlier suggest …
Mortgage proposal ‘manifestly unthought out’
A proposed State-backed mortgage solution that would see county councils pay a portion of a borrower’s repayments directly to the lender has been described as “manifestly unthought out”.
New Beginning co-founder Ross Maguire said the plan would “on first glance, fall apart”. The proposal, whereby payments on a split-mortgage would be divided between the borrower and their local county or city council, was suggested by the Irish Mortgage Holders’ Organisation.
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Foreign buyers snap up Irish government bonds
More than €2bn worth of Irish government bonds were snapped up in February with foreign investors becoming increasingly interested in the State securities.
The total value of outstanding government bonds stood at €122.13bn in February, with those held by non-residents now making up almost 60% of the overall value.
The percentage of Government bond holdings of non-residents climbed to 58.7% from 51.3% a year previous, with the increase principally due …
Ireland hit by 'unexplained investment weakness' for years – IMF
Investment in Ireland was well below potential from 2011 to 2014, and the reason why is not fully clear, according to the International Monetary Fund.
That’s despite the weak performance largely coinciding with the 2010/2013 period of the EU/IMF bailout when the fund had unprecedented oversight of the economy here.
Lack of access to finance and uncertainty about the economic outlook are two likely reasons why businesses invested less after …
Enough is enough as we’re already over-taxed
She is looking at a number of car options, but all cost about €15,000. Assuming she wants to do this from hard-won savings, that sum implies she had to earn over €30,000 at marginal tax rates to produce the needed amount.
The Government, on behalf of you and I, already scooped over €15,000 from her in income taxes, but that is only the start of it.
The cars she is …