Posts by splash

New data from Banking and Payments Federation Ireland shows a significant rebound in mortgage activity, with 45,500 approvals issued between January and October, representing a combined value of €14.6 billion. This is the highest volume recorded since 2022 and the highest value captured since the series began in 2011. The strongest growth came from first-time…

As the Black Friday and Cyber Monday season gets underway, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission is urging shoppers to exercise strong caution amid a rise in sophisticated online scams. The agency’s latest research indicates that nearly a quarter of consumers plan to buy during the sales period, creating fertile ground for fraudsters seeking to…

European Union negotiators have reached a provisional agreement on a new framework aimed at reducing online payment fraud and improving consumer protection. The measures will place greater responsibility on banks and payment service providers, while also introducing new obligations for online platforms. Under the draft rules, payment service providers will be required to reimburse customers…

The Government’s new auto enrolment system, My Future Fund, is due to begin on 1 January 2026, and employers are being urged to prepare now. The final chance to have eligible employees entered into an existing pension scheme is the November 2025 payroll. Anyone not already enrolled at that point will be automatically included in…

Many jobseekers are finding that recruitment has become a marathon rather than a sprint. Roles that carry any real responsibility or competitive salary often involve several stages of screening, from online tests and case studies to panel interviews and culture-fit meetings. Some of these steps focus on technical ability, others on personality and values, yet…

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties has submitted a formal complaint to the European Ombudsman, raising concerns about the European Commission’s use of generative artificial intelligence in official documentation. The issue came to light after an access to documents request revealed that at least one hyperlink in a Commission response had been produced using OpenAI’s…

Ireland’s annual inflation rate climbed to 2.9% in October, according to new data from the Central Statistics Office. This marks the highest annual reading since March and represents a slight rise from the 2.7% recorded in September. The CSO figures show that the strongest upward pressure came from Education costs, which increased by 8.4% over…

The Government has moved to defend its decision to remove annual delivery targets from its latest housing strategy, arguing that rigid yearly numbers can distract from long-term progress. Minister for Housing James Browne said that data on housing completions will still be published each year, but that fixed annual benchmarks are not always the most…

EU finance ministers have reached political agreement to abolish the long-standing customs duty exemption on low-value goods entering the bloc. At present, items worth less than €150 can be shipped directly to consumers across the EU without attracting import duties, a rule that has become increasingly exploited by high-volume retail platforms such as Temu and…

The United States has brought an end to the longest federal government shutdown in its history after President Donald Trump approved a new funding bill. The legislation passed through the House of Representatives with a narrow majority and followed a week of tense political negotiations in Washington. The measure reinstates funding for key federal programmes,…