Electricity and gas supplier Panda Power has confirmed its intention to make a controlled exit from the Irish energy supply market. The supplier has around 50,000 electricity customers and 10,000 gas customers. Its planned exit follows the departure of Glowpower, Bright Energy and Iberdrola from the Irish market earlier this year. The company said the decision has been reluctantly […]
News & Resources
Dublin’s Buswells Hotel on the market for €22m
Dublin hotel Buswells has been put on the market with a guide price of €22 million. It is a popular meeting spot for politicians, journalists and lobbyists given its location across the street from Leinster House. The Molesworth Street property has operated as a hotel since the 19th century. In 1995, Buswells was bought by […]
Stocks rebound for first positive week in four
In the US, the services PMI continues to hold up well with a reading of 56.9 for April. In terms of the component parts, business activity and new orders had their strongest readings this year. Whilst the global equivalent was in contraction territory at 43.7, there are solidifying hopes that the US can both simultaneously […]
UK jobless rate hits lowest since 1974 as people quit labour market
Britain’s unemployment rate fell to its lowest since 1974 at 3.6% in the three months to July as more people left the labour market, according to official data today that could add to the inflation headache for the Bank of England. Economists polled by Reuters had expected the jobless rate to stay at 3.8%. The […]
Shane Lowry: ‘Hopefully I can start becoming a yearly winner’
Shane Lowry is hopeful that his victory at the BMW PGA Championship will spur him on to success more regularly on tour. The Offaly man emerged victorious at the prestigious Wentworth tournament, beating fellow major winners Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm by a single shot to claim a sixth European title as a professional and end […]
Most KBC Bank Ireland hubs to close in March
KBC Bank Ireland said that 11 of its hubs around the country will close permanently on March 10, 2023 as part of its withdrawal from the Irish market. KBC has hubs in Galway, Limerick, Lapps Quay Cork, Wilton Shopping Centre Cork, Waterford, Maynooth, Main Street Swords, Blanchardstown Shopping Centre, College Green Dublin, Baggot Street Dublin […]
ECB raises interest rates by record 0.75%, signals more to come
The European Central Bank raised its key interest rates by an unprecedented 75 basis points and signalled further hikes, prioritising the fight against inflation even as the economy is heading for a likely winter recession. With inflation at a half-century high and approaching double-digit territory, policymakers are worried that rapid price growth could become entrenched. […]
Enterprise Ireland named as Europe’s most active domestic VC investor
A new report by PitchBook, a Venture Capital (VC) and Private Equity investment platform, has named Enterprise Ireland as Europe’s most active domestic VC investor by deal count. The report, which covers the period 2018 to H1 2022, showed that Enterprise Ireland had completed 988 investments over that period, the most in any European country. The number […]
Instagram fined €405 million for GDPR violations
The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) has fined social media platform Instagram €405 million for violations of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It follows an investigation into breaches relating to children’s data which was commenced on 21 September 2020 on foot of information provided to the DPC by a third party, and in connection […]
Euro hits 20-year low against dollar
The euro sunk below $0.99 this morning, a 20-year-low, following the announcement last week that Russia would cut off gas deliveries to Germany via the Nord Stream pipeline. The euro fell 0.7% to 0.9884 in early trade – its lowest since December 2002. The European currency has continued to weaken against the dollar since the […]
Online and mobile banking payments hit record high
Online and mobile banking hit record highs in the second quarter of the year growing to 36 million payments, the highest level since the current data series began in 2016. The figures are contained in the latest Payments Monitor from Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI). It is the first time that digital banking payments […]
Spending by tourists in Kerry fell by 46% last year
Spending by tourists in County Kerry fell by 46% last year, according to a new report from Fáilte Ireland. It also shows a corresponding fall in the number of trips to the Kingdom, compared to pre-pandemic levels. This new report from Fáilte Ireland looks at trips and spend by tourists, comparing 2019 before the outbreak of […]
Unions offered 6.5% increase in public sector pay talks
Negotiations on public sector pay have concluded at the Workplace Relations Commission. The details of a potential deal have not yet been announced, but it is understood the proposals include a pay increase worth 6.5% over two years. This would come on top of a 2% increase already included in the existing public sector pay […]
Will we face electricity shortages in Ireland this winter?
In light of a looming energy crisis in Europe, the challenge of maintaining Ireland’s energy security is receiving more attention now than any time in recent decades. Our electricity grid has recently seen a number of “system alerts”, previously known as “amber alerts”, indicating that the margins between electricity supply and demand are becoming tighter. The backdrop […]
Teacher recruitment issues may limit subject choice – TUI
A severe teacher recruitment and retention problem in schools is being exacerbated by the cost of living crisis and may result in reduced options for students, according to the Teachers’ Union of Ireland. The union said that pay discrimination in teaching is having a negative impact on the attractiveness of the profession and on morale […]
Why is the price of petrol going down – and how low will it go?
Analysis: reduced oil prices and increased refinery capacity will see drivers pay less for fuel at the pumps Petrol pump prices are a reliable indicator of the state of the political world around us. If prices are excessively low or high, it means that something unusual has happened somewhere on our planet. In Ireland and […]
Abbott to create 1,000 new jobs in Kilkenny and Donegal
US healthcare company Abbott Laboratories has announced plans to create 1,000 jobs as part of of a €440m investment here. The company intends investing the money in a new greenfield manufacturing plant in Kilkenny and generate further employment in Donegal by expanding its facility there. Abbott already employs 5,000 people in Ireland and has operations […]
Hotel manager awarded €28,000 for unfair redundancy during Covid
A Dublin hotels group which claimed it could not avoid redundancies because of business subsidy cuts has been ordered to pay a 20-year veteran of the hospitality trade over €28,000 for unfair dismissal. Adam Brien said at hearing that the way he was made redundant “destroyed” his faith in the hospitality trade – and that […]
Consumers spending more as essentials inflate – Revolut
Spending on groceries, restaurants and fuel is increasing month-on-month, according to banking app Revolut, as consumers prioritise while inflation surges. In contrast, spending on clothes shopping, and leisure activities such as sports clubs and cinemas has dropped. Supermarket spending was up 6.6% per consumer in July, compared to June. However, looking back since last year, […]
Record tax receipts drive €5bn exchequer surplus
The public finances recorded a surplus of €5 billion at the end of July, according to figures published this afternoon by the Department of Finance. This compares to a deficit of €5.7 billion at the end of July last year. The continuing turnaround in the public finances is explained by higher tax returns and lower […]
Twitter to ‘re-size’ its Dublin office as part of global shift
Twitter is to re-size its Dublin office, which houses the company’s European Headquarters. The move will not result in any job losses but it is understood it will involve the fourth floor of the office building being taken offline and sub-leased to another tenant. The floor was already offline and had previously been sub-leased by […]