Even though we are still struggling through a pandemic that has reduced GDP, house prices in Ireland have increased by 13% over the last year. And not just in Dublin; prices are up by 18% in Munster, 16% in Leinster and 15% in Connacht and Ulster. What’s more, this is not just an Irish phenomenon.  House prices have increased by 13% in the US, while Germany, Netherlands and the UK have all seen... read more>

Ireland’s compo culture has meant that Insurance scammers could make false claims in Court against businesses, restaurants, travel companies, public bodies, charities, and even private citizens, to win unfair compensation. These false claims meant that insurance premiums went up for everyone, including the vast majority of honest insurance customers. Last week, the passing of the Criminal Ju... read more>

The likelihood of a Trade war between the EU and UK increased this weekend as the EU and US warned the UK over the consequences of failing to implement the UK Withdrawal Agreement. The UK media have called the upcoming Trade War the Sausage Wars. Unfortunately, if it goes ahead, it will increase prices of a lot more than sausages and will very much affect Irish consumers. Bloomberg research ... read more>

The Leaving Cert exams start this week. After two years of pandemic disruption a middle ground is being sought that combines continual assessment with final exams. This is certainly a good idea, very few education systems anywhere in the world stake everything on final exams at the end of a two-year curriculum. Having suffered through the crisis of the pandemic, many sectors of our economy a... read more>

There have been many ups and downs on the rollercoaster of this pandemic. Sometimes Ireland has scored poorly, for example, along with much of the EU were slow to roll out vaccines. We also endured a huge curtailment of civil liberties with more days of lockdown than any other jurisdiction. But, on the positive side, we consistently scored highest in Europe on the survival rates from ICU. Ho... read more>