Irish Economy Poised for Huge Rebound as Restrictions are Lifted

Consumer and Business sentiment is growing in Ireland following the loosening of covid restrictions. 

 

For May 2021, the Bank of Ireland Economic Pulse, a metric that combines the result of the Business and Consumer pulses, came in at 89.5. This is 4.1 points higher than last month, and 45.6 higher than a year ago. This is the fourth straight month that the Economic Pulse has increased, and it comes after a series of covid-19 related restrictions were loosened or lifted. In May, restrictions on social interactions were lifted, and several sectors emerged, at least partially, from lockdown. These sectors include the remainder of construction, personal services, and non-essential retail (by appointment only), with many other sectors getting ready to re-open. 

 

This rising sentiment, combined with the expectation that lockdown measures will be loosened further in the coming months, has brought the Economic Pulse Index back above its pre-pandemic levels for the first time. This has led Bank of Ireland to revise its GDP forecast to 5.8%, up from its earlier estimate of 5%.  

 

The Housing market …

Read More →

How Brexit might impact Ireland going forward

As of 31 December, 2020, the transition period of the UK’s exit from the EU has ended, and Europe is now left to deal with its economic fallout. General consensus seems to be that the move will ultimately prove harmful to the UK and the EU, including Ireland. In fact, Ireland will likely be more affected, as it is more exposed to its effects than others due to the intensity of trade between the two. Costs associated with that trade will undoubtedly increase, as the UK is Ireland’s second-largest training partner, accounting for 14% of Irish exports and 26% of imports, second only to the U.S. Brexit will necessitate additional steps in conducting said trade. Trade between the two is already said to have fallen substantially. To get around this, some businesses have been going through Northern Ireland.

Trade with the rest of Europe will also be made more complicated post-Brexit. Shipments from Ireland to the mainland have often gone through the UK historically. Now, Irish businesses have had to find and arrange for new routes. At present, these new …

Read More →

International Tariffs Affecting Ireland Marketplaces

With the switch of the presidency in the US, international trade laws are set to change. The most recent being the increased tariff on import of bread products in Brexit and increased costs. These taxes on flour imports are predicted to raise the price of bread in the area by as much as 9%.

The IBEC group has spoken out about concerns in the food and drink sector, speaking to the impact of these new regulations and the origin of said laws. Vital points they bring up include how the deal in the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) that included this rising tariff for flour products will require a derogation for the Irish bakery sector in order to help with these tariffs. When tariffs like these occur, many buyers typically stockpile products to avoid the extra costs, but the shelf life of flour is generally low, lasting around 2 weeks. Meaning that any price fluctuations and their effects on the market will be seen in a very short amount of time.

The impact of the tariff is likely to …

Read More →

What Does the Biden Administration bring to Ireland?

With the inauguration of Joe Biden, an ending of the four years of the highly debated Trump Administration begins. Many people are overjoyed with the change in power, but there is also some doubt. The main focus of Biden, as stated in his inauguration speech is to “restore the soul of America”, but what does that mean and entail for Ireland and our relationship with the US?

The effects of US government policies have long-lasting effects on the Ireland economy. Especially changes in corporate tax code on the US international companies that operate within our borders, employing nearly 160,000 people. These businesses are the case of nearly a €7 billion unforeseen fall of Irish corporation tax receipts over the last half-decade. The Trump administration was a strong advocate for tax reforms aimed to bring said organizations’ operations closer to home in the US. This included nearly a 10.5% charge on global low-taxed income, or otherwise known as the Gilti tax. The Gilti profits tax has been set far too low, and therefore did not discourage US companies to shift their …

Read More →

Brexit’s Largest Impact

Uncertainty is the overwhelming feeling that Brexit has brought onto the entirety of the EU. Here in Ireland, we are no exception. The fear of a large economic downturn is looming, and it seems everyone is fixated on what will happen when October 31st comes around.

The Irish economy as a whole was predicted to grow 4.1% in 2019 and forecasted an increase in the GDP of 3.7% in 2020 according to the European Commission. This however was predicted without considering the effect of a hard exit by the UK. A hard exit could bring an economic fall out consisting of lowered income levels, and higher unemployment rates. Experts from the Economic and Social Research Institute suggest that these conditions can lower the intense growth of property prices since the low in 2013. The Central Statistics Office says this growth has been just over 86% within those 6 years. Housing demand is likely to lower, affecting mortgage companies, brokers, and families trying to sell or relocate.

However, the housing industry will likely not be the hardest hit industry from the …

Read More →

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 …

Read More →

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 …

Read More →

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 …

Read More →

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 …

Read More →

Parent’s continue to pay

Mortgages can be extremely overwhelming to any buyer, but especially those new to the market. Competition in the market is at extremely high levels, especially within the major Irish cities. This is due to rising house prices, little availability, and the intensity that comes with making an offer against other prepared competitors. In order to make an offer on any property, there are many hurdles that you must be able to jump through to even begin being an eligible purchaser. 

Loans have become much harder to get approval for as a first time buyer, especially if your credit history is not as detailed or robust as another person applying for the same type of loan. With high intensity competition beginning at stage one of getting a loan, many possible home buyers feel distressed from the get go. 

With Brexit on the horizon, banks have an iron hold on most of their funding; they are being extra selective about loan recipients in the hopes that they will have no issues in the repayment process.

Under the Central Bank rules, first time …

Read More →
  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
← Older Entries