Latest news with #EoinBurkeKennedy
Irish Times
6 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Will Rent Pressure Zone reform help fix the housing crisis?
The Government will bring its latest housing fix to Cabinet today when it presents new rules on rent levels for approval. Aimed at boosting supply – by encouraging large institutional investors to build and small landlords to stay in the market – the plan primarily concerns rules around Rent Pressure Zones (RPZ). These were established in 2016 – the number of such zones grew over the years – to curb rent rises. Landlords could only raise rents annually, first by 4 per cent and in a subsequent change to the rules, by 2 per cent. Now landlords of new builds – new houses or apartments – do not have to abide by those caps. Also when a new tenancy begins, a landlord can charge market rent – not the capped RPZ level. Existing tenants will still have 2 per cent rises, for the six-year duration of the lease. READ MORE There will also be new measures to prevent landlords evicting existing tenants simply to greatly raise the rent for a new tenancy. Consumer Affairs Correspondent Conor Pope says no one is happy with the new plan, but why? And does the plan make sense? Economics Correspondent Eoin Burke-Kennedy gives his analysis. Will the move really lure capital investment into Ireland's housing market? Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon.
Irish Times
9 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Budget watchdog forecasts fresh corporation tax surge
The mood music around the economy may not be good right now, but the State's budgetary watchdog sees a silver lining. Indeed, Ireland could be on the brink of another surge in corporation tax , according to the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (Ifac). Eoin Burke-Kennedy has the details. Housing activity dipped in May for the first time in nine months, according to AIB's latest construction PMI. Colin Gleeson reports. Colin also has details of an Ibec policy paper on regulation , which sees the business lobby call for an overhaul of Government regulations. Gender issues is one of the biggest story of our times, and sits at the heart of politics and the culture wars . Yet Irish media seems reticent to cover the issue in depth, according to Hugh Linehan. In his column, he explores why. READ MORE Cantillon goes deeper on the Ifac report , while also assessing Dalata's options after the hotelier rejected a bid from a potential suitor, and looks at why nursing homes are a convenient target for Government right now but no-one cares to talk about the hypocrisy around funding for the care of older people. In Your Money, Dominic Coyle answers a reader question on whether to move house now, or wait for another potential drop in interest rates. How to manage your pension in these volatile times Listen | 37:00 Fiona Reddan meanwhile, looks at how a new tax relief scheme for residential landlords is already causing headaches. In Me & My Money, comedian and theatre director Laura O'Mahony talks through her spending habits. Ireland's tax on idle land zoned for housing must be reformed to encourage the level of private investment required to help solve the Republic's housing crisis, PwC has said. In its pre-budget submission, the Big Four accountancy firm has called on the Government to address the issue of housing development costs through taxation policy. Ian Curran has read the submission. Dublin City Council has given the green light to Fáilte Ireland for its planning application to set up a food hall at the vacant St Andrew's Church on Suffolk Street in central Dublin. Gordon Deegan reports. Irish factory output fell sharply in April, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) said on Monday, despite a strong start to the year, particularly for multinational-dominated manufacturing industries including pharmaceuticals. Ian Curran has the story. The tariff saga continues. Dozens of executives from some of the world's biggest companies will travel to Washington this week to push back against a plan to raise taxes on foreign investments in the US, warning it may hit millions of American jobs. Novo Banco, the Portuguese bank lead by former AIB chief financial officer Mark Bourke, has attracted two bids from French banking group BPCE and CaixaBank of Spain, according to people familiar with the matter. If you'd like to read more about the issues that affect your finances try signing up to On the Money , the weekly newsletter from our personal finance team, which will be issued every Friday to Irish Times subscribers.
Irish Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Irish corporate tax receipts tumble and ECB cuts rates once again
It's been a heavy period of economic news. In Ireland, corporate tax receipts fell by 30 per cent in May, amounting to a loss of €1.1 billion on the same month last year, according to latest data from the Department of Finance , which pointed to 'once-off factors' that had boosted receipts last year and distorted the year-on-year comparison. Eoin Burke-Kennedy looked at the latest numbers which say much about our economy. And speaking of the economy, it grew by an eye-watering 10 per cent in the first quarter. Eoin Burke-Kennedy again analyses the data and makes the link with US tariffs. On a more individual level, the third piece of heavyweight economic news was the ECB's eighth rate cut in the last 12 months. Conor Pope explains that, give or take, this equates to a €13 per month saving for every €100,000 owed on a tracker mortgage. US government debt is now 120 per cent of its GDP, about what it was in 1945. In the OECD, only the Greek, Italian, and Japanese governments are more indebted. So what effect might Trump's economic policies have? In his column, John FitzGerald looks at some studies which explain the deleterious effects of tariffs may be greater to the US economy than to Europe. Could borrowing problems, given the size of its debt ratio, cause the US economic problems of Liz Truss-sized proportions, or will sanity prevail? READ MORE DAA, which runs Dublin Airport, has suggested forthcoming legislation may finally put paid to its passenger cap which at 32 million per year is extremely limited based on current demand. But then legal twists and turns mean it currently isn't even enforced, a piece of toothless regulation DAA chief executive Kenny Jacobs quipped was a 'zombie cap' at a press briefing attended by Barry O'Halloran. A former employee at the Keelings fruit and vegetable group was fired after they found he had brought the company into disrepute with 'false' posts on social media claiming excessive night work hours contributed to the deaths of two of his colleagues in 2013. The case is before the Workplace Relations Commission. The High Court has ordered a Co Wexford wind farm to shut down half of its six turbines and pay €360,000 in damages to a couple. Mary Carolan has details on the case in which the defendants were said to have failed to engage 'in any meaningful way' with the 'genuine and substantive' complaints made by the couple over a 12 year period. Denis Staunton took a look at the official Chinese summary of the phone call between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump , their first direct conversation since the beginning of the year. Xi requested a bit of mutual respect and told his American counterpart he should dispense with the 'negative measures' on trade. What it all means for the ebb and flow of US policy the world over is, as usual, unclear. TikTok has secured a court stay on a move by the Data Protection Commission to prevent the social media giant transferring data to China. Mr Justice Mark Sanfey said the stay would be in place until early October when the court will hear an application by TikTok seeking a longer stay, and until a full challenge to the direction can ultimately be dealt with. Bank of Ireland will be hoping for some final clarity when the UK's financial watchdog decides on whether to launch a compensation scheme for mis-sold car loans. The Irish bank has a 2 per cent share of the UK motor finance market. To date, as reported by Joe Brennan, it has set aside a provision of £143 million (€172 million) for a potential compensation scheme. Many analysts say the bill could rise. If you'd like to read more about the issues that affect your finances try signing up to On the Money , the weekly newsletter from our personal finance team, which will be issued every Friday to Irish Times subscribers.
Irish Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
How to manage your pension in these volatile times
Donald Trump's second term in the White House has seen markets go through a period of extreme volatility, something that has worried many Irish pension holders. How should they react? Should they react at all? And what is the outlook for the rest of this year? Munro O'Dwyer is a partner at PwC Ireland and joins host Cliff Taylor in studio to discuss managing your pension in volatile times. In the second half of this episode of Inside Business, Irish Times Economics Correspondent Eoin Burke-Kennedy looks at why so many companies are pulling back from their pledge to go green and lower carbon emissions. READ MORE This alarming trend is worrying given the latest analysis by the Environmental Protection Agency that shows that Ireland is going backwards in its attempts to achieve its 2030 greenhouse gas emissions targets. So why the about-face on an issue that affects us all? Is reaching net zero emissions simply not realistic for many companies? Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.
Irish Times
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Letters to the Editor, May 24th: On housing, skorts and the Shannon stopover
Sir, – Eoin Burke-Kennedy's recent article ('Why is the housing crisis Ireland's most enduring failure?', The Irish Times, May 23rd) lays bare the depth and longevity of Ireland's housing disaster, but also, perhaps unintentionally, exposes how limited the range of expert thinking on this issue continues to be. The analysis draws heavily on the usual economic voices: those who treat the housing crisis as a problem of investor confidence, regulatory friction, and misfired market incentives. But after 25 years of this framework dominating the conversation, are we not overdue a deeper re-evaluation? There are other perspectives – those who question whether housing should be a commodity at all, who argue for a non-market alternative, or who see high-density, State-built housing not as a last resort, but as a social good. Yet these voices remain marginalised, rarely quoted, and often dismissed as utopian. What we're facing isn't just a policy failure, it's an epistemic one. We have cornered ourselves into a narrow version of what counts as 'realistic,' even as that realism continues to fail us. READ MORE If the Government is to have any hope of restoring trust and delivering actual housing solutions, it needs to start listening beyond the usual suspects. – Yours, etc, GAVIN REDDIN, Swords, Co Dublin Tackling the rental crisis Sir, –It is very clear from Gerald Howlin's contribution, ( 'Renters forking out €2,000 per month are paying the price for water charges debacle', May 23rd, ) that those who occupy the centre-right political ground have not the slightest intention of addressing the housing crisis. The current housing crisis is the result of government policy to leave all housing provision entirely to the market. The crisis will begin to end when that policy is changed, and only then. The idea that introducing water charges or further 'broadening of the tax base' would play any part in solving the current debacle is nothing other than self-serving nonsense. It pours insult over injury for the many thousands whose lives are being crippled by the ongoing struggle to get and hold a roof over their heads. – Yours, etc, JIM O'SULLIVAN, Rathedmond, Co Sligo. Tips for visiting the Gray house Sir, – Frank McNally's 'Irishman's Diary' of Thursday May 22nd brought back fond memories of my own, happier, visit to Eileen Gray's Villa E.1027. Might I suggest that the next time he take the train? The ticket office, book store and meeting point for the guided tours is a converted container in the car park of the train station, the villa itself 100 meters further along the clifftop footpath. We were treated to a detailed, unhurried, English-language tour by a local, very well-informed student architect. Afterwards, continuing along the clifftop path with its spectacular views of the Med brought us to Avenue Virginie Heriot and the former Hotel Idéal Séjour where Yeats died, there's a memorial plaque. The graveyard is accessible after a steep climb through the old town. A helpful gardener pointed out the plaque recalling Yeats approximate tomb - the exact spot is lost forever. The graveyard also contains the (self-designed) grave of Le Corbusier, who, tragic irony or divine retribution, drowned in the bay below the Villa E.1027 which he had defaced. – Yours etc, PAUL O'KEEFFE, Co Tipperary. Sir, – I enjoyed the few minutes reading Frank McNally's befuddled attempt to find Eileen Gray's house by the sea in the south of France. It then just took another minute or so to look up Google to learn that Eileen was an Irish interior designer, furniture designer and architect who became a pioneer of the Modern Movement in architecture. I am sure we are meant to know such things. –Yours, etc, KEVIN MCLOUGHLIN, Ballina, Co Mayo Skorting the shorts issue Sir, – Now that the camogie girls have finally been allowed their God given right to wear what they choose, any chance the lads be afforded the same freedom? Paul Mescal in a skort in Cannes? –Yours, etc, FIONNUALA DUNNE, Sandycove, Co Dublin. Sir,¨ –I pick up The Irish Times every day in anticipation of headlines that declare the end of wars, the triumph of good over evil, and the long-overdue return of reason to a world spinning off its axis. Bearing in mind current global turmoil, I am usually disappointed. However, today I note that after 121 years, the Camogie Association are now allowing players the choice of wearing shorts or skorts. It might be just a tiny move to a more peaceful world, but at least it's a skort. – Yours, etc, GEOFF SCARGILL, Co Wicklow. Sir. –Well thanks to be to God the skorts debate has ended. You see it had me remembering back to the 1970s when we wore divided skirts on the basketball pitch to protect our modesty. I thought those days were long over and now thankfully they are gone again I can sleep better but how did that debate even start up? Now I'm wondering have we moved on at all. I need to stop wondering or the bags under my eyes from lack of sleep will explode. Yours, etc, BERNIE KIRWAN, Gorey, Co Wexford. Sir,– It is great that 98 per cent of delegates at a Special Congress of the Camogie Association voted to allow players to choose wearing shorts or skorts. The Association reminds me of golfers who know they are improving when they hit less spectators. – Yours, etc, DERMOT O'ROURKE, Lucan, Dublin. Fox hunting ban unnecessary Sir, – Notwithstanding one's views on the subject , Ruth Coppinger's proposed Bill to ban fox hunting in Ireland is probably unnecessary due to the fact that the introduction of motorways, the increasing urbanisation, the intensive nature of farming and the difficulty of getting insurance cover, means that hunting with a pack of hounds followed by 60 or 70 riders chasing a fox across the countryside is now nigh ( or neigh !) impossible . The much safer option is drag hunting where the pack of hounds followed by the self-same mounted followers follows a prearranged scent across a country well away from the dangers of motorways and away from horses hooves' damaging the increasing acreage of newly sown corn crops or the ever growing number of dairy paddocks . This will mean that the camaraderie of the hunting folk will still exist along with this country's long history of producing excellent horses and riders learning from jumping over still challenging obstacles but without the need to chase a fox . –Yours, etc , CHARLES SMYTH , Kells, Co Meath. Shannon and stopovers Sir, – There must be coordinated government action to prevent future uses of Shannon Airport by planes used for the extrajudicial transfer of individuals to a third country for imprisonment. As reported by Keith Duggan and Marie O'Halloran ( 'Flight carrying 'barbaric' deportees from US to Africa stopped at Shannon Airport', May 23rd): a plane carrying eight migrants from the US landed in Shannon en route to a detention facility in South Sudan. The Trump administration sent these eight individuals against the order of a federal judge, denying them their right to due process. By allowing the aircraft to stop at Shannon, the Irish Government is complicit in this action. Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Harris and Minister for Transport, Darragh O'Brien need to coordinate their departments to screen flights coming from the US and refuse clearance to any that are unlawfully trafficking individuals to third countries. Mr Harris cannot presume individuals on such flights are lawfully detained, as this is just the latest of many incidents of people being sent to foreign prisons without due process and against the orders of American courts. Dr Hidetaka Hirota previously wrote in this newspaper about the thousands of Irish migrants and their citizen relatives were forcibly and systematically expelled from the US according to similar policies to what we see today. Facilitating the trafficking of migrants from the US does no justice to our previous generations nor to the conscience of people in Ireland today who are concerned about the aggressive migration policy being pursued in the US. – Yours, etc, JAMES GILLER, Co Cork. Whither wetsuits? Sir, – There appears to be far fewer wetsuits in evidence on Irish beaches, compared to a decade ago. A sign of increasining national resilience, or of ocean heating? – Yours, etc, DR DAVID VAUGHAN, Mornington, Co Meath. Sir, – I can attest to your report of a marine 'heatwave' in Irish coastal waters. Instead of the usual four, it only took two hours this morning for my fingers to regain their feeling following my daily dip in Portmarnock. Hence this typed letter! – Yours etc, HUGH MC DONNELL, Dublin 9. Legal obligations and Gaza Sir –We, the undersigned, members of the legal profession and academy, are writing to express our deep concern at the Irish Government's continued failure to take the necessary steps to comply with its international legal obligations in relation to the crisis in Palestine. The daily atrocities in Gaza carry an appalling human toll and are being perpetrated by Israel in overt defiance of fundamental rules of international law and human rights. While we commend the Irish Government's support for and engagement with relevant international institutions, particularly international courts and United Nations bodies, including UNRWA, we consider that Ireland has fallen considerably short in meeting its own specific obligations under international law in the face of these persistent and indeed escalating abuses in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Under the 1949 Geneva Conventions, Ireland has a duty set out in Common Article 1 'to respect and ensure respect' for those treaties 'in all circumstances'. As a State party to the 1948 Genocide Convention, Ireland also has an obligation 'to prevent and to punish' the crime of genocide –- what has been described as 'the crime of crimes'. The State must take all reasonable legal, diplomatic and economic steps to achieve the cessation of such serious violations, accountability for those responsible, reparations for victims and compliance by Israel with international law. In its Advisory Opinion of July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories to be unlawful and held that it must be ended 'as rapidly as possible'. All States are obliged to neither recognise this presence as lawful nor to 'render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation' created by Israel's illegal presence. The United Nations General Assembly, by an overwhelming majority, adopted a resolution in September 2024 setting out how to give effect to the Advisory Opinion, as mandated by the Court. It called on States to ensure that their nationals, companies or governmental bodies do not recognise or provide aid or assistance to the unlawful situation, to cease the importation of products from unlawful Israeli settlements and to implement sanctions against both natural and legal persons engaging in the maintenance of Israel's unlawful presence in Palestine. Ireland co-sponsored and voted in favour of the resolution which quite specifically called on States to take steps 'to prevent trade or investment relations that assist in the maintenance of the illegal situation created by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory'. Successive Irish governments have delayed and prevaricated on what is known as the Occupied Territories Bill. We do not consider there to be any insurmountable legal obstacles, in either Irish, European or international law, preventing the adoption of legislation prohibiting the import of goods and services produced in the unlawful Israeli settlements in the West Bank. We consider this is the absolute minimum required from the State to comply with its international legal obligations and the holdings of the International Court of Justice. Anything less would be an abrogation of Ireland's long-standing commitment to international law and human rights. We call on the Irish Government to act urgently to adopt the necessary domestic legislation to give effect to its international obligations arising as a result of Israel's unlawful presence in Palestine and the continued commission of severe breaches of international law. Any existing legal advice on proposed legislation should be published in full. We remind the Irish Government that its obligations under international law, including those elaborated by the ICJ, require that it acts to ensure that international organisations of which it is a member, such as the European Union, do not render aid or assistance to the unlawful actions of Israel. Ireland must press with an even greater urgency to ensure that the EU-Israel Association Agreement is reviewed and necessary action taken based on its own terms and in light of relevant ICJ rulings. We demand the Irish Government review and report on existing trade and economic relations with Israel, including the issuing of bonds by the Central Bank, to ensure these do not contribute to recognising, aiding or assisting the unlawful situation created by the continued presence of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Finally, we call on Ireland to provide enhanced support to relevant international institutions, in particular those facing attacks and sanctions, such as the International Criminal Court and UNRWA. – Yours etc., PROF SHANE DARCY, Irish Centre for Human Rights, School of Law, Unversity of Galway IVANA BACIK TD Colm O'Dwyer SC PROF SIOBHÁN WILLS, Director of the Transitional Justice Institute, Ulster University EILIS BARRY, Chief executive, FLAC BARRA MCGRORY KC SC AONGHUS KELLY, International Lawyer PROF COLIN HARVEY, Queen's University Belfast JANE O'SULLIVAN, Solicitor, Community Law & Mediation MICHAEL O'HIGGINS SC The full list of signatories (around 350) is available at: Sir - The prime minister of Israel has accused the prime minister of the United Kingdom, and others, as being on the 'wrong side of humanity' for their views on providing aid to Palestinians. May I suggest that their being 'on the wrong side of humanity' is a matter of opinion. In the case of the prime minister of Israel and his colleagues it is a matter of fact that they are 'on the wrong side of humanity'. - Yours, etc, BILLY HANNIGAN, Dublin 12.
