Business Today Newsletter

ESRI verdict on Budget 2024, exiting the boom-and-bust cycle, and donning the FAI green jersey

The best news, analysis and comment from The Irish Times business desk

Michael McGrath and Paschal Donohoe the morning after they delivered Budget 2024. Did they do a good job? Photograph: Alan Betson

Úna McCaffrey's face
Úna McCaffrey
Fri Oct 13 2023 - 06:40

Budget 2024 will insulate most households in the State from the impact of rising prices next year, according to a fresh analysis of Tuesday’s package from the Economic and Social Research Institute. Eoin Burke-Kennedy has more on the think tank’s verdict on the plan, which it says will result in higher gains for households with lower incomes.

Eoin also looks deep under the bonnet of the budget in today’s long-read Agenda, asking if it holds the answer to how the public finances should be managed. He notes in particular the Government’s attempts to break out of the boom-and-bust cycle that has long dogged the economy.

Meanwhile, the Minister for Finance was out on Thursday defending his Budget 2024 package, saying it will help businesses by bolstering demand for goods and services. Joe Brennan heard what Michael McGrath had to say, also learning more about how the Government’s planned new investment funds will work.

And John FitzGerald has thoughts to share on the budget too, wondering how it will affect the delivery of the infrastructure the State so badly needs.

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Cheque transaction volumes have fallen to their lowest level since at least 2008 while the popularity of online and mobile banking has continued to grow, the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland (BPFI) has said. Ian Curran reports on the latest data from the banking lobby group.

Ian also has details of a new survey showing an overwhelming majority of Irish businesses are unsure whether they will engage in any merger and acquisition activity over the next 12 months.

Wearing an on-message green jumper, Football Association of Ireland commercial director Seán Kavanagh speaks to John Burns in this week’s Business Interview. Mr Kavanagh, a Leeds United signing at age 15, says the association is on track to over-achieve against its commercial targets for this year.

In his Any Other Business column, John brings news of a luxury apartment sale by the Voxpro-founding Kielys, what TG4′s annual report reveals, what Ivana Bacik said at last week’s UK Labour conference and more.

With AI present in almost all aspects of life these days, Olive Keogh asks how it might be affecting recruitment, both for jobseekers and those doing the hiring. And also in our Work section, we explore why the personal conduct of executives is growing risk for employers.

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