Brexit slows hiring

Brexit. Are you tired of this word yet? It is all that seems to be on the news, on your local newspaper headlines, and on any form of social media platform you can think of. If it seems to be encroaching on every aspect of your life, that is most likely because it is. 

Although a nuisance, it is not without good reason that this topic is everywhere. However far in the future this EU split may be, there are plenty of precautions being taken here and now that must be taken note of by economists and citizens alike. 

As of late, there have been significant changes in the job market for some particular hiring sectors. An index by IrishJobs.ie notes that in the three months preceding July, there was a 4pc decrease in job postings as a hiring sector wide statistic. 

Some of the largest reductions in possible hirings come from firms that are operating in the accounting, financial services, and pharma sector. These three all have come to the conclusion that their particular category may be more hardly …

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Mm Capital propose building university dorm copycat in Dublin 1

With housing options becoming more and more difficult to secure for an affordable price in Dublin, many people wonder when the ever-expanding city will reach maximum capacity. With the thought of growth being stagnated by the availability of homes or apartments at a reasonable price point on the brain, Mm Capital began looking for answers. 

In partnership with international shared residential operator SQRE Living, Mm Capital composed and submitted a building proposal that would allow them to build a 132-bed co-living development on a 5000 square meter plot. This residential building would be located at 39-42 Hill Street in Dublin 1. 

Although this sounds to be an outrageous propositions, students all across Europe and the United States live in these type of conditions for 2-4 years of their lives while attending university. Many of the dorms strewn across campuses can house hundreds of students easily and effectively. 

This real estate investment and development firm has also mentioned many different styles of living that would be available. Around 75pc of the 132 rooms would be 19 square meters, while the other …

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Mortgages on the rise

A sense of impending doom has been a huge part of economic and political decisions within the last few months due to the ever uncertain Brexit debacle. These feelings are slowly beginning to fade in Ireland due to the increased time that Irish businesses and banks have had to prepare for the EU split. Although this event is bound to cause slight fluctuations, economists have noted that the economic future for Ireland is still bright. 

Banks and buyers alike are taking note of this promise, which has been obvious through the most recent data in relation to mortgage approvals and house prices. According to recent bank data, there has been a  significant rise in the number of home related mortgage applications and acceptances. 

The Irish Bank and Payment Federation found that from April to June, there were 10,157 mortgages taken out, which is an 8.8pc rise from the previous period. Using yearly comparisons, it has been shown that the issued mortgage rate this time last year was around 800 acceptances lower. It topped the approvals for the first three months …

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Does it pay to be a stay at home parent?

Parents say that watching their children grow up can only be described as priceless, but what if we were to put a numerical value on it? With the percentage of the younger generation growing at the highest rate, there is an obvious influx in new parents within the population. 

Many of these new parents take a term of absence from their workplace, which for mothers in Ireland this leave can be up to 42 weeks, or a bit over 10 months. During the first 26 weeks, you are compensated in the hopes that these funds can be used for immediate child care supplies; the minimum rate that you can be given per week is €235/week. 

Ireland’s benefits  in regards to maternity leave come in second best in comparison to other countries in the European Union. With a lengthy amount of paid time off and additional weeks allowed, many parents feel that they are being supported by the government during this stressful but exciting time in their lives. 

Once these benefits end and the child gets older, parents are faced with …

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Construction slowing in new home development sector

With competition for loan approval building, home development companies are feeling the heat. This year has proved to be one of the most difficult for possible consumers to obtain loans, largely due to the uncertainty that Brexit brings to the table. Due to the lack of accessibility of funds when attempting to purchase a home, many homes have simply gone unfilled. 

Goodbody Stockbrokers, a  company that specializes in asset management and global investment funds, has taken a clear interest to the changes that are currently happening in the market. This company developed a house building tracker, which in turn showed that from April to June 2019 there was a sharp decline in the output of newly developed housing. 

This is largely due to the fact that without the high availability of loans, many homes simply are not getting sold. In the lower priced areas of the housing market, there is significant competition but any home that is priced at or above €500,000 has been struggling to get off the market. In general, this trend is showing that affordability is becoming …

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PwC pay gap explained

 The pay gap. In 2019, all businesses are well aware of the blatant difference between the average male and female salary. All across the world, the average for women tends to be lower than that of men, despite a significant rise of educated, strong women entering the workforce every year. 

PricewaterhouseCoopers, or PwC for short, is a diverse organization and one of the largest employers in the world. This big four company has been interested in looking more deeply into the statistics of Ireland that surround gender inequality. Recently, this firm came out with it’s own set of statistics, which vary significantly from those published in the past.  

PwC has reported that it has a pay gap of only 5.7pc in Ireland, which differs from the Ibec report that averaged the difference to be at 8.2pc. A partner at PwC Ireland spoke on the companies behalf, saying that the pay gap is due to the larger amount of male counterparts in higher ranked positions or higher paying jobs within the same company. Beyond this, she notes that there is little …

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Property tax could help solve economic inequality

The 2020 Irish Budget, written by the Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe, is likely to have some major changes implemented within the coming years. The Department of Finance has begun drafting multiple different variations of possible changes in taxation, many of which are targeted at the Vehicle Registration Tax. 

This proposed taxation would crack down on high CO2 emission vehicles and would possibly provide grants or tax breaks to owners of hybrid or fully electric vehicles. In this particular budget, there has been a substantial focus on the environment and upholding the Irish promises of maintaining and promoting environmentally friendly options.

Beyond just these changes, there has been mention of increasing property taxes in the hopes of having a more fair taxation system. The Nevin Economic Research Institute (NERI) notes that there is substantial income tax collection inequality and that an increase on home tax could be more beneficial in diversifying the collection of tax revenue. Additionally, a home value is usually more substantial than a person’s income, so applying a harsher tax on  property could bring in a more …

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Pound put on diet, losing weight fast

The price of a pound sterling is based very heavily on what the next few months in the UK hold in regards to Brexit. Currently, the UK is in the middle of electing a new prime minister. As the head of the cabinet and leader of ministers in the executive branch, this person has a significant influence of the political state of the UK. Their actions are bound to affect the price of currency, and already have proven to have done so. 

Within the last week, both conservative candidates who are running for the position of prime minister mentioned that they are both in support of the creation of a hard border in the case that there were to be a no-deal Brexit. Immediately after this debate, the pence dropped significantly in value. 

The pound usually costs around 0.7-0.85 cents to purchase, but as of 16 July you can exchange 90.22 cents for one pound. This is the lowest value that a pence has been in the last 27 years, and is showing trends that indicate the value will continue …

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Homecare services soar

The Health Services Executive of Ireland, or HSE, is a government funded organization created in 2004 under the Health Act. It’s aim is to support the people of Ireland with the social and health related resources necessary to achieve their potential. Additionally, it gives Irish citizens the access to safe, compassionate, and quality health care at home or at a medical center. 

Within the recent years, there has been an influx in the population of adults that are in need of in-home services. The HSE has been outsourcing most of their at-home care business to businesses that are outside of the government, despite the high costs that come with this type of service. According to recent reports, the prices for this type of service can be twice the cost of Health Services Executives. 

Mary Butler, who is a spokesperson for older people, has looked into data and found that the HSE has outsourced basically all of their home care in the nation’s capital. Additionally, smaller cities such as Dún Laoghaire, Dublin south-east, Wicklow, Co Kerry, Co Cork, Co Donegal, Co …

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Brexit-proofing your business

What is the best way to protect your business and employees from the unpredictability of the economy and general business sector in a post-Brexit state? Skillnet Ireland seems to have an answer to that problem– increased training. This national agency’s main goal is to facilitate education in the workforce so that Irish workers can be highly skilled in all of the new and dynamic tools in order to be able to compete as a nation against other highly skilled nations.

During last year alone, the company has trained over 56,000 Irish workers in the small-to-medium business sector so that these smaller companies will have the edge up on larger corporations. Skillnet can provide assistance and training through classes with the help of 50 other diverse industry partners. 

The largest category that has participated in the upkeep and acceleration of their workers skills through these classes is micro-firms. Out of the 16,462 firms that participated in educational courses, 56pc of them were smaller than 10 people. Agriculture and general services were the largest overall sectors that felt the need to update …

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