Card spending continued to rise in second quarter Almost €19 billion was spent on Irish credit and debit cards between April and June, according to the Central Bank. That represents an 8% rise year-on-year, as consumers increasingly opted for cards instead of cash. The vast majority of card transactions in the second quarter – more […]

Committee recommends broadband network remain in public ownership A report carried out by the Oireachtas Committee on Communications has recommended that the broadband network infrastructure remain in public ownership. The committee carried out an investigation into the Government’s decision to award preferred bidder status on the multi-billion euro national broadband contract to Granahan McCourt. The […]

Average monthly rents hit record level for 13th quarter in a row – report Average monthly rents across the country rose to a new record level during the second quarter of the year. According to the latest quarterly Rental Report by Daft.ie, on average the cost of renting is now €1,391 per month. The increase […]

Stock markets higher on hopes for stimulus, trade progress European shares are up for the third straight session, building on a recovery since late last week. Shares in Asia also rose in overnight trade. Global stocks rallied at the start of the trading week on rising optimism about stimulus measures in China and Germany as […]

Threshold, USI call on Govt for scheme to protect rental deposits The Union of Students in Ireland and national housing charity Threshold have called on the Government to immediately implement a Deposit Protection Scheme (DPS) in order to safeguard rental deposits. Both organisations say that such a scheme is needed to protect tenants in the […]

New guidelines on mobile and broadband advertising Telecoms operators should not mislead customers by exaggerating the availability, coverage and speed of mobile and broadband services, according to new guidelines. The new measures around the advertising of mobile phone and broadband services are being introduced by the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland and come into effect […]

Help-to-Buy may cut higher value homes in Budget overhaul The Help-to-Buy scheme could return in October’s Budget but in a heavily capped form that would essentially exclude Dublin homes, the Sunday Independent has learned. Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe plunged the future of the scheme into uncertainty when he refused to confirm that it would continue […]

Banks claim that tracker scandal cases fall outside of time limit Hundreds of homeowners who believe they were caught up in the tracker mortgage scandal may have left it too late to get compensation, if the banks involved get their way. According to RTÉ, Financial Services Ombudsman Ger Deering has raised concerns that some of […]