Archive for December 2020

Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Alphabet unit Google may have to change their business practices in Europe or face hefty fines between 6-10% under new draft EU rules to be announced today. The rules are the most serious attempt to rein in the power of the US tech giants which control troves of data and online…

Overall, 28,000 new houses will be required to be built each year over much of the next two decades if the country’s housing needs are to keep step with population growth, according to new research from the Economic and Social Research Institute. The ESRI also found that up to 33,000 new homes will be required…

House prices have increased by 3.5% in the last year, according to a report by the property website Daft.ie. So far this year more than 630 properties were sold that were worth €1m or more.  More money is being spent on homes with Daft.ie assessing the value of all residential property in Ireland now stands…

The European Union’s Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, has said sealing a new trade pact with Britain is still possible and that negotiations are continuing to attempt to solve rifts over access to UK fishing waters and rules of economic fair play for companies. “We’ve only been negotiating for nine months. We’ve needed at least five…

The European Central Bank expects economic growth to rebound more slowly next year as the pandemic continues to weigh on output but the recovery could be quicker in 2022 than earlier thought, its updated economic projections showed today.  In what it describes as the baseline scenario, the ECB expects GDP to expand by 3.9% percent…

The talks on Brexit may still be ongoing, just about. But so, too, is the worrying here in Ireland about the potential consequences of no agreement being struck. That’s for at least five very good reasons, as the fallout could be extremely serious for Irish business and the economy. Exports If there’s no deal, among…

There are “low expectations” that a post-Brexit trade deal can be struck between the European Union and Britain, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has reportedly told EU leaders. Ursula von der Leyen told leaders from the EU’s 27 member states that the “probability of a no deal is higher than of a deal”…

Self-employed people in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) will be able to earn €960 over eight weeks while also retaining their full entitlement to the payment following a change to the rules. The Minister for Social Protection, Heather Humphreys, said she was doubling the threshold from the current €480 over four weeks immediately…

Consumers will be faced with VAT and customs duty when Britain exits the EU on 1 January if buying goods from the UK. However, the changes are likely to result in an increase in the tax take for the Government. Revenue has outlined the costs which consumers will face after Brexit. Anything priced under €22…

Britain and the European Union have scope to strike a trade deal but significant differences remain and real progress needs to be made to keep talking beyond the new deadline of Sunday, British foreign minister Dominic Raab has said. Speaking to the BBC, Mr Raab said that while he could not rule out a further extension…