Bank of Ireland cuts Irish GDP growth forecast to 3.5%
Economy
Bank of Ireland cuts Irish GDP growth forecast to 3.5%
Bank of Ireland has revised down its forecasts for Irish GDP growth in the wake of US tariffs
Alice O'Leary
13:55
Bank of Ireland, led by chief executive Myles O'Grady, revised down its forecast for employment growth to a 1.8 per cent expansion in 2025. Picture: Naoise Culhane
Bank of Ireland has downgraded its projections for Irish GDP growth, citing escalating trade tensions and the impact of newly imposed US tariffs as key ...

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Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Bank of Ireland reports 'resilient' spending with card activity up 6.5% in May
Irish consumers continued to display confidence in May, with Bank of Ireland card spending rising by 6.5% annually. The rise in credit and debit card activity marked another month of strong growth in consumer activity, the lender said, with the "robust" growth significantly outpacing inflation, suggesting household spending remains a key driver of economic momentum. Despite ongoing global uncertainty and trade tensions, Irish consumers have not pulled back on their spending, Bank of Ireland said, with the data showing no evidence of a slowdown in expenditure, even in categories typically sensitive to economic sentiment. Retail spending in May rose by 3.6%, which Bank of Ireland said reflected steady demand for clothing, groceries and household items. Meanwhile, spending on services rise by 3.7% in the month, underpinned by continued demand for personal care, transport and professional services. Social spending was also up in the month, rising by 6.4%, with notable increases in restaurant and accommodation expenditure. Restaurant spending alone climbed 6.3%, the bank added, well above the 3.4% inflation rate for this category. Likewise, accommodation spending also rose by 5.6%, with prices in this segment remaining broadly stable. Importantly, Bank of Ireland said there was no sign of a decline in spending on 'big-ticket' items such as furniture, electrical goods, airline fares, or holidays, areas that often see early cuts when consumer confidence wanes. While Irish consumer confidence dipped to two-year lows in April, according to the European Commission survey, sentiment rebounded somewhat in May, the lender noted. The decline in confidence was largely confined to concerns about the broader economic outlook, Bank of Ireland said. In contrast, consumers' expectations regarding their intentions to make major purchases remained more resilient. This divergence suggests that while Irish households are aware of global risks, they are not allowing these concerns to significantly influence their day-to-day or long-term spending decisions. Commenting on the figures, Bank of Ireland's Chief Economist, Conall Mac Coille, said: "Irish consumers are understandably cautious about global developments, but the data shows they remain confident in their own financial outlook. "The 6.5% rise in card spending in May reflects a resilient economy and a willingness to continue making key purchases. This broad-based growth across sectors highlights the strength and stability of household consumption, even in the face of international uncertainty."


Agriland
5 hours ago
- Agriland
Watch: ABP marks 10 years of research at demo farm
ABP Food Group hosted a special event today (Tuesday, June 10) to mark a decade of research on the ABP Demo Farm in Co. Carlow. Attended by agri-industry personnel from across Ireland, the event highlighted progress made to date on reducing climate emissions and improving on-farm efficiency. The Sheppard family-owned, 280ac dairy-beef farm, has partnered with ABP since 2015. The partnership was established to test and validate practical on-farm solutions to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from beef production, whilst also increasing efficiency. The ABP Demo Farm research is in collaboration with, and independently verified by, Teagasc and the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF). The key findings and achievements from the ABP Demo Farm to date include: The farm's carbon footprint is 32% lower than the average beef farm in Ireland, based on Bord Bia data, with steers finished 180 days earlier (ABP Beef Benchmark Report); The research findings indicate that high genetic merit beef sires, compared to lower-merit sires, produce cattle that are on average 38kg heavier and worth €301/head more at the same slaughter age. The gap between the best and worst sires reached 62kg in carcass weight and €511 in carcass value; Hereford cattle ranked in the top third of the Commercial Beef Value (CBV) and delivered €220 more in returns than those in the bottom third; Over 5,500 cattle have gone through the trial programme to date with more than 80,000 live-weights recorded from the trial farm alone; 150,000 doses of semen have been distributed through the Gene Ireland Programme; Progeny from 279 AI beef bulls have been tested, with these sires going on to produce 885,000 calves on Irish farms. The establishment of the ABP Demo Farm followed findings from ABP's work with the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), which revealed that over 90% of emissions across its supply chain occur at farm level. Ongoing and future research initiatives at the ABP Demo Farm include: Working with the ICBF, Teagasc, and Meat Technology Ireland (MTI) to develop genetic strategies for earlier finishing and lower daily methane emissions; Participation in the Water EIP Programme with Teagasc and the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO) to enhance water quality without compromising productivity, with three ABP team members currently training to support farmers through this scheme; Being the first beef farm in Ireland to adopt the Glasport Bio GasAbate slurry inoculation system, which Teagasc has shown reduces methane emissions by 80% and ammonia by 50%; Running a second-year grazing study in partnership with University College Dublin and BiOrbic, comparing multi-species swards and perennial ryegrass in terms of animal performance, grass growth, fertiliser use, and environmental impact; Measuring soil carbon stocks through 273 soil samples across different depths to track future gains in carbon sequestration. The research findings from the ABP Demo Farm have directly contributed to the creation of ABP Beef Benchmark Report and support the ICBF Gene Ireland Beef programme which aims to identify the most suitable beef bulls for use on the dairy herd. Advantage Beef Programme The success of the ABP Demonstration Farm has also led to the creation of the ABP Advantage Beef Programme, an enterprise partnership that assists farmers to build a more-sustainable beef business. The programme now includes over 1,000 participating suppliers and is a key element in expanding the research findings of the ABP Demonstration Farm across the family farm supply chain. In 2024, the 35,000 cattle produced as part of the ABP Advantage Beef Programme were on average 85 days younger at finish, with just a 4kg lighter carcass weight. ABP is currently working with Teagasc, ICBF and MTI on new projects focused on genetic selection for earlier finishing and animals that emit less methane per day, as well as projects focused on improving water and soil quality. Agri-sustainability manager at ABP, Stephen Connolly, said: 'The ABP Demonstration Farm is a long-term investment in the future of sustainable beef production in Ireland. 'Our objective is to develop systems and share solutions that support farmers and allow their businesses to grow. The key focus of our projects is economic and environmental sustainability and in this, our key areas are animal breeding and grassland management. 'Although this farm is focused on dairy beef, many of the practices developed here can be transferred to suckler-beef systems, which remain an integral part of Ireland's beef sector,' Connolly added.


Agriland
5 hours ago
- Agriland
DAFM seeks services of recruitment agency
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) is currently inviting tenders from recruitment services providers. The department said the reason for undertaking this procurement process is so it has 'the people resources it needs, in a timely manner, through the services of a recruitment agency'. According to the tender documents, the value of the contract, which will be for a maximum period of four years, may amount to some €500,000, excluding VAT. DAFM The department currently employs over 4,000 staff operating from six large, centralised locations across the country. Staff also work in 16 regional offices, fishery harbours, meat plants, border inspection posts and laboratories. In addition to the general administrative grade streams, the department employs several technical and professional grade streams. This includes technical agricultural officers, veterinary practitioners, agricultural inspectorate, forestry inspectorate, engineers, harbour masters, laboratory specialists and services support staff. Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine The process for filling vacancies in the civil service is as follows: open competition; internal promotion competitions or expressions of interest and the Civil Service Mobility Scheme. 'The DAFM Competitions and Recruitment Unit already carry out a large number of competitions and this tender is to add the option of using an outside agency to carry out some of these competitions,' the documents said. The successful tenderer will be required to design and administer in consultation with the department, 'an effective, efficient and fair recruitment and selection process for various DAFM positions'. The department noted that the following actions will be carried out by DAFM and not the recruitment agency: Negotiating start dates; Contracts; Garda vetting; Job descriptions, including the terms and conditions for each position; The advertising of positions on Public Appointments Service (PAS); Translation of advertising into Irish; The advertising of positions on European platforms, where appropriate. The department said that it has 'a wide and diverse customer base' which includes farmers, consumers, food processers and other commercial operators, those involved in sea fishing, forestry, bioenergy, research as well as diverse EU institutions, other state bodies and special interest groups. The deadline for the submission of tenders is 5:00p.m on June 24.