Archive for January 2024

The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) is expected to complete a new code of practice on the right to request remote working by the end of this month. The code will set out practical guidance for employers and employees when it comes to requesting remote or flexible work. “The WRC intends to finalise the code by…

Almost three-quarters of Irish people believe that social media algorithms, that select the content users see, should be regulated more strictly. The findings are contained in new research from the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) and Uplift which also shows that 82% of those surveyed believe so-called “recommender systems” should be switched off. Recommender…

New data shows that instrumentation engineers, ad reviewers, and mechanical and electrical project managers are the most difficult jobs to fill. The ‘Hardest to Fill Jobs’ analysis of Irish job posts by jobs site Indeed shows that online moderators, tax consultants and construction specialists are also proving difficult to recruit. Indeed’s analysis examined job postings…

Employers group Ibec has written to the Taoiseach to highlight concerns about the rising cost of doing business, and specifically the pace and scale of Government-imposed labour costs. The escalating cumulative costs include the increase in the minimum wage to €12.70, which came into effect on January 1, as well as increases to employer PRSI,…

Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien has said that the 10% stamp duty rate, which is applicable to international investors who buy more than ten residential properties, will be reviewed. He was replying in the Dáil to Sinn Féin’s Spokesperson on Finance Pearse Doherty, who said that such investors are block-buying new homes at a rate…

Building work began on 32,801 new homes last year, the highest number on record, new data shows. The figure for commencement notices lodged in 2023 compares to 26,957 in 2022, an increase of 21.5%. It follows a strong end to the year, where the number of commencement notices filed in December rose 76% compared to…

Oil prices rose today as the International Energy Agency (IEA) joined producer group OPEC in forecasting strong growth in global oil demand and as cold winter weather disrupted US crude output while the government reported a big weekly draw in crude inventories. Oil traders also worried about geopolitical risks in the Middle East. Pakistan conducted…

Wage growth in Ireland slowed at the end of 2023 and has dropped to 3.7% year-on-year, according to a new report from jobs site Indeed and the Central Bank of Ireland. The research shows that the wage growth rate in Ireland is below the 3.8% recorded across the euro area and the slowest since April…

Ireland has once again topped a league table of European countries for issuing data fines. The 2024 edition of global law firm DLA Piper’s annual GDPR and Data Breach Survey shows that supervisory authorities across Europe have issued a total of €1.78 billion in fines since 28 January 2023, which is an increase of 14.1%…

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is in Davos for the World Economic Forum, which has so far been dominated by the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine. Mr Varadkar is expected to meet a number of world leaders and hold bilateral talks with the chief executive officers of several global corporations. He arrived in Davos last…