Business News

€1,000 reduction in third level college fees comes into effect

23rd November 2023

Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris has announced further details on the cost of education measures first outlined in the Budget. A reduction of €1,000 in undergraduate fees has now been applied to all students’ accounts reducing the cost of college for 96,000 students by 33%. Students, or their families, who have paid […]

Read More

Euro zone to tighten fiscal policy in 2024 – Commission

22nd November 2023

Euro zone fiscal policy will be tighter on aggregate next year but several countries, including France and Italy, plan to spend too much, breaking EU recommendations, the European Commission said today after analysing draft euro zone 2024 budgets. “The aggregate fiscal stance for the euro area is projected to be contractionary in 2024 on the […]

Read More

Consumer caution warning as Black Friday approaches

22nd November 2023

It’s that time of year again when Black Friday advertising is inescapable. Offers galore are touted on social media feeds, in broadcasting and newspapers in the run up to 24 November. Buy, buy, buy, is the message, and do it quick in case the bargains do not last. Since Black Friday and Cyber Monday became […]

Read More

Government agrees increases in all classes of PRSI

22nd November 2023

The Government has signed off on a plan to increase PRSI over five years to replenish the Social Insurance Fund. Under the plan there will be incremental increases in all classes of PRSI. This decision will see hikes in PRSI rates for employers, employees and the self-employed. These increases will support the retention of the […]

Read More

EU October car sales up 14.6%, EV sales jump more than 36%

21st November 2023

New car sales in the European Union rose 14.6% in October, boosted in part by a big jump in sales of fully electric cars, while hybrid electric vehicles accounted for nearly three of every 10 vehicles sold in the economic bloc. Sales of fully electric cars rose 36.3% from a year earlier and full hybrid […]

Read More

EU Parliament to vote on new ‘right to repair’ consumer rules

21st November 2023

New rules to make it easier for consumers to request repairs for goods will be voted on by the European Parliament. The legislation seeks to introduce a “right to repair”, in order to reduce unnecessary waste. It will require producers and sellers of goods to prioritise the repair of an item, during its guarantee period, […]

Read More

Business confidence in “experience economy” weakens

21st November 2023

A quarter of businesses in the “experience economy” are less confident than they were six months ago, new research has found. A similar proportion of firms indicated they expect conditions to be poor over the next six months. The experience economy includes hospitality, retail, travel, food, drink, tourism, entertainment, the arts and events. The survey […]

Read More

Record online spend forecast for Black Friday

20th November 2023

One week out, AIB is forecasting that online Black Friday spend in Ireland this year will surpass last year’s record-breaking total. In 2022, customers of the bank spent €66,000 every minute or €95m in total, the highest online spend ever recorded by the lender over a 24-hour period. A total of 900,000 card transactions by […]

Read More

‘Buy now, pay later’ in focus as festive season nears

20th November 2023

It’s the time of year when the purse strings are being loosened in the run into the festive season. Most of us are at the stage where we’re at least starting to plan for the months ahead and, more importantly, how we’re going to finance and manage the annual Christmas spend. Following at least two […]

Read More

Consumers planning a more positive but prudent Christmas

20th November 2023

Planning to cut back on Christmas spending is now a seasonal norm, according to analysis of the Credit Union Consumer Sentiment survey for November. It contained a special question on consumers spending plans for Christmas, and compared it with spending intentions in the previous three years. Over half of consumers expect to have less to […]

Read More