Watchdog assails Government’s budget and how to save on home renovations

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

IFAC chairman Seamus Coffey. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill / The Irish Times
IFAC chairman Seamus Coffey. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill / The Irish Times

Ireland is flying blind without the updated medium-term fiscal plan that was promised in last year’s programme for government, and the Coalition is “budgeting like there’s no tomorrow” with no forecasts available beyond 2026, the State’s independent budget watchdog has warned. Ian Curran has the story, which is sure to provide a headache for new Minister for Finance Simon Harris.

Ireland’s biggest estate agent, Sherry FitzGerald, posted a bumper 23 per cent increase in its revenues last year, helped by the acquisition of a business in Northern Ireland. Latest accounts for Sherry FitzGerald Group Ireland Holdings Ltd also show that the property company paid a €6 million dividend to its parent entity, which is controlled by entrepreneur Tommy Kelly’s CastleGate Investments. Ciarán Hancock reports.

Spending on flights to the Czech Republic took off in the minutes after the World Cup play-off draw was made last week while sales of replica football jerseys soared as fans suddenly found themselves freed from almost a decade of miserable mediocrity. Conor Pope reports.

Professional bodies should scrutinise rules that may hinder workers from moving between employers, competition watchdogs warned, after Chartered Accountants Ireland axed a restriction on trainees seeking new jobs. Barry O’Halloran reports.

Ireland now has the fifth best representation of women on the boards of listed companies in the EU, a marked improvement on 16th in 2018, according to a new report. Hugh Dooley reports.

Hugh also reports that revenue at Google’s Irish subsidiary grew 12 per cent in 2024 as the tech giant paid a €4.5 billion dividend to its US-listed parent company.

Home renovations can be a huge and costly exercise. Yet switching mortgage providers can save you thousands in the long run. In Money Matters, Joanne Hunt shows how it can be done.

Last month, Stripe cofounder John Collison penned an opinion piece in The Irish Times bemoaning Ireland’s ability to get big infrastructure projects over the line. In his column today, John McManus looks at a forthcoming wind energy auction for clues on whether he is right.

The Irish arm of discount retailer Aldi recorded a pretax loss of €20.1 million last year. New accounts show that Aldi Stores (Ireland) Ltd took the loss even as revenue increased 1 per cent to €2.12 billion. That compared to 3 per cent growth in 2023. Gordon Deegan read the accounts.

Ardagh Group chief financial officer John Sheehan is to step down, the company has announced. The news came as Ardagh reported a loss for the third quarter of the year and weeks after it agreed a deal with bondholders to recapitalise the business.

Pretax profits at the Irish branch of the football “super agency”, Gestifute last year dropped 24.5 per cent to €50.77 million. Gordon Deegan has read the accounts.

In Commercial Property, Ronald Quinlan reports that the O’Callaghan Family Group has returned to the acquisition trail, taking ownership of the Hotel Kilmore in Cavan.

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Peter Flanagan

Peter Flanagan

Peter Flanagan is an Assistant Business Editor at The Irish Times