Archive for May 2025

Average asking prices for rents nationally rose by 3.4% between January and March of this year, going above €2,000 for the first time, according to the latest report from property website Daft. The findings indicate the latest increase is one of the largest in any three months in the last two decades, with average prices…

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that 79.8% of people said they got information on news and current affairs from TV or radio on a typical day in 2023. This was followed by newspapers/magazines, both in print and online at 77.7%, and social media at 71.2%. The CSO figures form part of the…

There has been a breakthrough in last minute talks to secure an agreement on an EU-UK post-Brexit reset, according to EU diplomats. EU member states are shortly expected to adopt a new agreement with the UK ahead of this afternoon’s London summit. Three draft texts have been presented to 27 EU ambassadors following talks between…

European Central Bank interest rates may be close to bottoming out but uncertainty was high and the environment was prone to sudden changes that could also alter the policy outlook, ECB policymaker Martins Kazaks said today. The ECB has been cutting interest rates quickly over the past year and the debate over where to end…

The euro zone economy grew slower in the first quarter than initially estimated but employment held up well, indicating that the bloc keeps creating jobs despite years of anaemic expansion, data from Eurostat showed today. Gross domestic product in the first three months grew by 0.3%, below an initial estimate for 0.4%, but that was…

A record €2.5 billion worth of personal loans were drawn down last year. These included loans for cars, home improvement works, holidays and weddings. The figures from Banking and Payments Federation Ireland show that loan values increased by 20% on the previous year, while volumes jumped 13%. In total, almost 230,000 loans were drawn down…

New figures from the Central Bank show that the average interest rate on new mortgages in Ireland continued to fall to March. The Central Bank said the average interest rate on new Irish mortgage agreements in March eased to 3.77% from 3.79% in February. The equivalent euro area average for March was unchanged at 3.33%,…

Tánaiste Simon Harris will travel to Brussels for meetings with European Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič and EU trade ministers to discuss trade and tariffs. Mr Harris will hold a bilateral meeting with Commissioner Šefčovič on the margins of the EU Foreign Affairs Council on Trade. There will be a detailed discussion on the European Union’s…

New research has shown that Ireland’s international competitiveness ranking would improve if Modified Gross National Income (GNI*) is used as an economic indicator instead of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). GNI* is seen as a more accurate measure of the domestic economy as it excludes much of the impact of the multinational sector. The National Competitiveness…