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Bigger salaries chase fewer homes and students promised a break on housing costs

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

Property prices have accelerated in the first quarter of the year, according to MyHome.ie's latest survey. Photograph:: Yui Mok/PA Wire

Dominic Coyle's face
Dominic Coyle
Mon Apr 8 2024 - 06:35

High-earning first-time buyers are helping to turn up the heat in the property market, according to the latest quarterly report from MyHome.ie, as asking prices continue to surge, while the number of properties listed for sale hit a new low in recent months.

New legislation to ensure student accommodation leases are confined to the academic year will be introduced before the summer recess to ensure the new tenancy protections are in place before the new academic year, Ministers say. The Government initiative follows reporting in The Irish Times of a move by some student accommodation providers to force third level students to sign up to 51-week leases for 40-week courses.

Another minister, finance boss Michael McGrath makes the case for the two new long-term investment funds he has established, arguing that they are crucial in ensuring the resilience of the State’s public finances in the future.

As former senior civil servant Sue Gray works on getting Keir Starmer’s Labour Party elected to government in the UK, Pilita Clark casts an eye over research showing that social class can have an even bigger impact on your chances of getting promoted in work than gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation.

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Speaking of workers, a new survey says many Irish workers believe their employer does not support their wellbeing in the workplace. Ray McKenna of Locktons, which carried out the research says it shows a “mismatch between employee needs and employer’s understanding and recognition of these needs”.

Grant Thornton is also turning its eyes to matters in the workplace. Its latest international business report says labour cost concerns are a growing headache for Irish medium-sized businesses, even if they remain more confident in their business outlook that peer sin the UK and elsewhere in the Europe.

Aon and Irish Life Investment Managers have launched a €500 million climate transition fund with cash from Aon’s master trust which manages the pensions of 39,000 workers across the State. It’s the first big investment call from the trust which has €2.7 billion in assets under management.

Finally, the cost of Irish unification is bound to be a contentious issue but Eoin Burke-Kennedy argues that whatever bill the Republic may face as the UK withdraws its subvention, “levelling up” the North’s ailing economy will necessarily impose significant costs on the Irish government.

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