Archive for September 2025

When Budget 2026 is announced on 7 October, it will be the first time the current government will have an opportunity to show the people where its priorities lie when money is on the line. One thing, heavily tipped to happen in this Budget is for restaurants and food-serving businesses to see their VAT rate…

The operator of Dublin Airport has announced new security rules surrounding liquids and gels in hand luggage, due to come into effect at midnight tonight. The changes are the result of a multi-million euro upgrade of the airport’s scanning technology. Thirty new C3 scanners, which make it easier to detect what is inside passengers’ bags,…

The Low Pay Commission is expected to recommend to the Government an increase of 5% to the National Minimum Wage. The rate is currently at €13.50 per hour. An increase of 5% would bring the rate to €14.17 per hour. The Government usually follows the Commission’s recommendations. The national minimum wage rate was last changed…

The use of smartphones and smartwatches, as the preferred payment method in Ireland, is continuing to grow. New figures show that contactless payments accounted for 87.9% of all point-of-sale (POS) card payments during the first half of the year. Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) said 58.2% of the payments were made using mobile wallets…

The Bank of England looks set to slow the £100 billion a year pace at which it reduces its government bond holdings following increased volatility in bond markets, while keeping its main interest rate on hold. Although the Bank of England views the pace of quantitative tightening as having little impact on the economy, the…

Choosing an AI model to use means making a call between different ecosystems and tools based on issues of data, privacy, cost and trust Artificial intelligence has moved from novelty to necessity. The systems we once treated as party tricks are now drafting essays, analysing data, generating code and even advising governments. But there is…

The Central Bank has warned the Government’s planned Budget package of €9.4bn of additional spending is “too large” and “unnecessary”. The bank said the “sharp increase” in Government expenditure would impact on the public finances. It also said there would be a larger underlying deficit than had been expected this year when one-off factors are…

A plan to block suspected scam text messages has been delayed amid ongoing concerns over technical issues. The communications regulator, ComReg, launched a new system earlier this year which saw messages from unregistered sender IDs labelled as ‘likely scam’ from July. However, many phone users had raised concerns about legitimate text messages being incorrectly labelled…

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show a 12.5% fall in the total number of homes granted planning permission in the second quarter of this year, with approvals falling to 7,447 units from 8,513 units the same time last year. The CSO planning permission figures give an indication of future building activity. The CSO…

British inflation held at 3.8% in August, remaining the highest of any major advanced economy, according to official data that underscores why investors believe the Bank of England is unlikely to cut interest rates again this year. High inflation is a problem for Britain’s government as well as the Bank of England. Finance minister Rachel…