The National Competitiveness and Productivity Council (NCPC) has highlighted Ireland’s pressing need to bolster its construction worker numbers to address housing targets amid the ongoing housing crisis, as noted by reporter Laura Slattery. According to NCPC, this compromising situation potentially hampers sustainable growth for the nation.
While the Government is gearing up to launch its mandatory workplace pension scheme next year, Dominic Coyle analyses how multiple firms are contemplating transitioning staff onto existing occupational plans. The necessity will profoundly influence the retail sector, as per Irish Life, where only 10-20% of staff engages in occupational schemes.
Ian Curran discloses that Waterland Ireland, renowned Dutch private equity group’s Irish subsidiary established in 2019, intends to pour funding into cross-Border electrical wholesaler, Bellew Electrical. The financial extent of this deal is undisclosed, but it will facilitate the ambitious expansion blueprint of founders Oliver and Michael Bellew. Bellew Electrical Wholesale provides electrical merchandise to the construction sector.
Additionally, Ireland experienced another deflation last month, with the yearly inflation rates falling from 2.9% to 2.6%. Eoin Burke-Kennedy pointed out the Central Statistics Office’s recent data, marking this the lowest in nearly three years following a decrease in worldwide energy prices.
Lastly, the noteworthy sports ground, Lord’s Cricket Ground in London, is set to undergo significant refurbishment led by the Co-Down based civil engineering and construction firm, Graham. As revealed by Ian Curran, the sports ground will incorporate at least an extra 1,100 seats.
Following the expiration of the Revenue’s deadline for repaying warehoused debt acquired during the pandemic, over 11,700 enterprises have been issued payment demand letters. As per Jack White’s report, if businesses fail to interact with the tax authorities before May 15th, they risk forfeiting the scheme’s benefits, including its zero-interest rate.
Latest figures from the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) show an impressive increase in “environment-friendly” loans. According to Laura Slattery’s explanation, this type of loan – tied to home improvements boosting energy efficiency and to the purchase of electric and hybrid vehicles – witnessed a 92% rise last year.
The need for better childcare accessibility, a contentious subject always on the political agenda, must be recognised and rectified. This view is reinforced by the Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies Ireland (CCAB-I)—a platform includes several professional bodies such as the Chartered Accountants Ireland, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, and the Institute of Certified Public Accountants. The CCAB-I has made an appeal to the Government to attend to this matter in the coming budget, as stated by Ian Curran. It is likely that other voices will join in this call.
At 31, the average age of first-time mothers in Ireland is the highest in the EU. Despite advances in making Ireland more family-oriented, birth rates are on a downward trend. John FitzGerald analyses this in his column, noting how the pandemic served as a quasi-social experiment, isolating younger potential parents and providing more home-time for existing couples. The global community could gain insights from studying such impacts.
In a recent business news, owner of Irish Ferries, Irish Continental Group (ICG) reported an increase in its cargo and freight volumes for the early part of this year. This uplift comes as a breath of fresh air against the backdrop of a tough 2023. Ian Curran analyses the figures which also denote a revenue surge to €177 million in the five months leading up to May.
Ryanair has boosted its financial support for research into eco-friendly aviation at Trinity College Dublin, investing an additional €2.5 million into the Ryanair Sustainable Aviation Research Centre, writes Barry O’Halloran.
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