Archive for February 2021

Irish online retail sales grew by 159% in 2020, according to new figures from digital agency Wolfgang Digital, up from average annual growth of 32% between 2017 and 2019. Wolfgang said the trend was revealed after analysis of over €0.5 billion of online spend, an estimated 7% of the total Irish e-commerce market size. Today’s…

European car registrations dropped in January, industry data showed today, as measures to restrict a second coronavirus wave hit sales in the region’s largest markets.  New car registrations dropped by 25.7% year-on-year to 842,835 vehicles in the European Union, Britain and the countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). This is according to figures from…

The Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe has said the public finances are still within the overall budget published last October. However, he said if current programmes to support incomes and businesses during Covid-19 are extended “well into 2021” then “much or all” of the contingency funds set aside will be used up. The Minister said decisions will be…

Job postings on Indeed Ireland were down 24% in early February compared with the same time last year, according to new research from the jobs website. However, despite the ongoing lockdown, the figures show that listings continue to grow and have not returned to the low of -54% last June. The study reveals growth right across…

The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has confirmed that the various pandemic supports will be extended beyond the end of March. Speaking on RTÉ’s News at One, Micheal McGrath said the Government will set out its new plan next week as regards Covid-19 and “a line of sight” for people, businesses and households in relation to the…

The banking industry’s representative association, Banking and Payments Federation Ireland, has published a report claiming Irish banks are forced to hold three times the amount of capital as its European counterparts. The federation (BPFI) says this is adding to the cost of lending and mortgages here. When a bank makes a loan or sells a mortgage…

Almost 477,700 people are set to receive the Pandemic Unemployment Payment this week – a decrease of 3,666 over the last week, according to the Department of Social Protection. Meanwhile the numbers claiming the Covid-19 Enhanced Illness Benefit fell by 34% over the last week – from 7,149 to 4,707 – reflecting the drop in…

Hundreds of thousands of workers could lose out on redundancy payments if their employment is terminated because time spent claiming the Pandemic Unemployment Payment will not count when calculating entitlements.  The Irish Congress of Trade Unions has urged the Government to reform employment law so that the period spent on the PUP will count towards redundancy…

This week could be a big one for Ulster Bank’s 2,800 employees in the Republic of Ireland, its 1.1 million customers, the Irish banking market and the economy in general. After months of speculation about the possible outcome of a strategic review of Ulster Bank’s Republic of Ireland operations by its parent NatWest, clarity could…

It may be hard to believe for those who availed of it, but it’s 20 years since Ireland’s arguably most famous and controversial savings scheme was launched. In an attempt to encourage people to take some money – and a bit of heat – out of an economy that was starting to boom, the then…