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The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged today after cutting eight times in a year, biding its time while Brussels and Washington negotiate over trade. The ECB cut its policy rate to 2% last month, halving it from 4% a year earlier, after taming a surge in prices that followed the end of the…

Consumer sentiment fell to a near two-year low in July as concerns about the cost of living and tariffs on European Union exports to the US weighed, a survey showed today. The Credit Union Consumer Sentiment Survey slipped to 59.1 in July from 62.5 in June, nearing April’s two-year low of 58.7. The reading is…

The Department of Finance has confirmed the cost of reducing the 13.5% VAT rate to 9% for the hospitality sector would be €867.7m in a full year. In documents published today it broke the cost down to €134.9m for accommodation, €674.6m for food and catering, €19.8m for entertainment and €38.4m for hairdressing. The Tax Strategy…

An overwhelming majority of Irish financial services organisations expect the sweeping regulatory changes emanating from the US to have an impact on Irish firms. The area where this is most obvious is tariffs. More than nine in ten organisations expect Irish firms to be hit by US regulatory changes, with more than two thirds concerned…

Improving pricing transparency and giving the Injuries Resolution Board (IRB) more powers are among the main measures outlined by the Government to bring down insurance costs in the latest action plan on insurance reform. The plan, launched today, runs until 2029 and contains a total of 26 actions to bring down insurance costs, ten of…

The Government is considering whether it should delay introducing a VAT reduction for the hospitality sector until the middle of next year. It is understood the aim would be to create the fiscal space for more tax cuts in next October’s budget. The Coalition’s programme for government contains a commitment to reduce VAT on the…

The Government has announced the opening of a consultation period to allow stakeholders make submissions on the work permit occupations lists. The Critical Skills Occupations List consists of jobs that are in short supply in Ireland and across the European Economic Area (EEA) including roles in areas such as medicine, ICT, sciences, finance and business.…

The Government is allowing scope for €1.5bn of tax cuts in Budget 2026, according to the Summer Economic Statement. The spending package will be €7.9bn, which is a 7.3% increase on 2025. It means the total package of tax cuts and spending increases will be €9.4bn in the budget next year. However, the Summer Economic…

More than 6,500 SMEs have been directly supported by the National Enterprise Hub (NEH) in the first year since its launch. The National Enterprise Hub is an initiative of the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment and Enterprise Ireland and brings together information and resources on over 250 Government supports from 30 different departments and…

Businesses and individuals bringing legal challenges to planning decisions will face additional restrictions under changes being discussed at Cabinet today. Minister for Housing James Browne is reforming the area of judicial reviews in Irish planning amid Government frustration at delays in securing permission for large housing developments. It is understood that the “leave to apply”…