Ictu calls for increased taxes and greater investment in key areas during meeting with Ministers

Business Today: the best news, analysis and comment from The Irish Times business desk

Decline in consumption in line with general trend towards more moderate drinking, says Ibec group

Regulator says capacity constraints in employment and housing point to moderate growth outlook

Regulator also downgrades growth forecast for Irish economy on back of capacity constraints and tougher monetary conditions

National association of charities outlines problems confronting sector at the launch of its pre-budget submission

Thousands of additional public servants needed to provide improved services, argues business lobby group chief

Those responsible for transforming mental health services will need unflinching Government support

Budget 2024 should focus on improving welfare payments for those in need and on planning for future challenges such as an ageing population and climate change

Umbrella group the Wheel to call for urgent Government action to address problem

Minister of State Niall Collins says scheme may be introduced in response to latest interest rate rise by the European Central Bank

Tánaiste says GRA ballot of confidence in Garda Commissioner sets ‘dangerous precedent’

Government mulls possibility of postponing fuel duty increase as it considers assistance for worst-hit mortgage holders only

Taoiseach says such mortgage interest relief would be ‘prohibitively expensive’ and denies he is out of touch on cost-of-living crisis

Labour Party leader says move would be in line with many other European countries

Social Democrats leader claims people on politicians’ wages had no capacity to understand reality of waiting lists or housing crisis

End Child Poverty Week seminar hears of difficulties in direct provision and generational poverty

Cliff Taylor: Priorities likely to be USC and when taxpayer hits the higher rate

Threshold says such a measure has worked with some success in Portugal

Minister for Public Expenditure on keeping a surplus, RTÉ funding and ‘case for centrism’ amid budget wrangling

Minister for Finance says ‘Ireland isn’t bulletproof’ from the current global economic downturn

Managers say ‘chronic underfunding’ means many schools are struggling to provide heat, lighting and water in schools

On October 10th, Michael McGrath could stand up in the Dáil and release 40,000 Irish children from the prison of poverty

Tax reform and cuts to Universal Social Charge among measures discussed in advance of 2024 Budget

Minister notes USC has been reduced in the past, says he is ‘committed to safety in public finances’

Budget 2024: Children’s Rights Alliance calls for hiring of 90 additional education welfare officers

Budget 2024: Social Justice Ireland calls for €25 hike in weekly social welfare rates and child benefit to rise by €50 a month

Senior departmental sources play down media reports that budget package would be as large as last year’s

It’s a reminder of the risk that comes with relying on three or four big companies for huge amounts of tax

The Rural Independent Group’s draft pre-budget submission was released in error

Chartered surveyors warn increased construction costs leading to projects being paused or cancelled as they are ‘no longer financially viable’

Remarks come after €1bn fall in corporation tax receipts last month compared with 2022

ESRI research suggests 40,000 children could be lifted out of poverty by measure

Introducing a second tier of child benefit payments would cost €700m per year, benefiting more than 100,000 households and reducing the share of children below the poverty line by a quarter

Child poverty could be cut by a quarter if child benefit was determined by a household’s means and number of children, new ESRI report shows

Inside Business podcast with Ciarán Hancock

Irish Fiscal Advisory Council warns against repeating past mistakes, but Varadkar says ‘things have changed a lot’ since rule was set

Levy is designed to collect contribution from construction sector towards cost of Mica Redress Scheme

Irish Fiscal Advisory Council chairman says ‘spending now risks low value for money'

Irish Fiscal Advisory Council could ‘push big red button’ and refuse to endorse future budgets if rule continues to be breached

Business Today: the best news, analysis and comment from The Irish Times business desk

One-off measures might be worth paying closer attention to as modest budget package leaves little room for major tax reform

Income growth stagnating or falling back even before current inflation cycle, says ESRI

Dublin Chamber says city’s commuter belt in the Greater Dublin Area and beyond needs better public transport

Q&A: Close to half of the number expected to be eligible have yet to claim the €500 a year to which they are entitled

Latest Tusla figures show early childhood care centres are growing more scarce, particularly in some parts of the country

Society of Saint Vincent de Paul says primary school children benefit from Government aid but urges more support for secondary school costs

Union wants €31.2m of European Social Fund Plus Programme money for upskilling workforce to be drawn down

Price jump expected after Friday when excise duty on fuel will climb by 7 cent for petrol and 5 cent for diesel as temporary measure ends

In the News podcast with Bernice Harrison