House prices up 9.5%, O’Flynn’s £1bn joint venture, and PwC on tax cuts

Irish property prices rose by 9.5 per cent annually in the second quarter of this year, according to Daft.ie’s latest analysis of its house sales. The figures show that house price inflation in Dublin doubled in six months but appears to be cooling in areas outside the State’s main cities. Barry O’Halloran goes through the numbers.

The O’Flynn property group, which is led by Cork developer Michael O’Flynn, has agreed a £1 billion (€1.16 billion) joint venture in the UK that will deliver student accommodation and shared living units in a number of British cities. Ciarán Hancock reports.

The Government should cut VAT and employers’ social insurance in Budget 2023 to aid family-owned Irish businesses that employ more than one million workers in total, Big Four firm PwC has urged in a pre-budget submission. Barry O’Halloran has the details.

Families are feeling the pinch as rising prices drive inflation up, separate reports from stockbroker Goodbody and Bank of Ireland have warned. Goodbody’s report says Irish inflation is expected to approach 10 per cent by the end of the year, while Bank of Ireland says one third of families here complain they are “just making ends meet” as the prices of goods and services accelerate. Barry O’Halloran reports.

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On a similar theme, Eoin Burke-Kennedy argues that while we might not be heading for a recession here based on GDP numbers, thanks to the export activities of the multinational sector, it will feel like one on the ground as inflation nibbles away at our buying power.

A recent British study suggests that the more we show stress, the more likeable we seem to be. FT columnist Pilita Clark agrees that there is no harm to displaying a mild amount of stress.

Sections of the tourism industry need to stop chasing short-term financial gains if they want to retain Government supports, Eoghan O’Mara Walsh, chief executive of the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation, argues in our Opinion piece.

Irish food company Thanks Plants has secured an investment of €400,000 from venture capital firm Redesdale, with Rose Hynes appointed as chair, writes Barry O’Halloran.

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