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First time buyers’ mortgages, funds industry warning and what next for The Late Late’s sponsor?

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

More home mortgages were approved for first-time buyers in May than in any other month since 2011, the BPFI said. Photograph: iStock

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Peter Flanagan
Tue Jun 27 2023 - 06:39

More home mortgages were approved for first-time buyers in May than in any other month since 2011, Ian Curran reports. The Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland (BFPI), the banking industry’s representative body, said a total of 4,928 mortgages were approved in May with an overall value of close to €1.4 billion.

The funds industry has warned the Government that if the regime for Irish special purpose financial vehicles, which hold over €1 trillion of assets, is “restricted in any significant way” it may lead to other parts of the State’s large international funds industry moving elsewhere. Joe Brennan reports.

Former Permanent TSB chief executive David Guinane is looking for an inquiry hearings into his alleged role in the industrywide tracker mortgage scandal to be delayed from October to early next year, to allow new solicitors acting for him to get up to speed with the case, according to his senior counsel. Joe has the details.

Cantillon looks at why west African oil tycoon and Tullow Oil’s largest investor Samuel Dossou-Aworet rhas hiked his stake in the company, and warns that the European energy crisis has a way to run yet. Meanwhile new research gives us a fresh insight into the state of the economy.

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In her column, Bernice Harrison asks a question RTE executives are almost certainly trying to answer: will Renault walk away from sponsoring The Late Late Show?

The Government needs to take more meaningful action in engaging with the business sector and helping it play its part in delivering the 2030 UN sustainable development goals, according to Concern Worldwide. Kevin O’Sullivan reports.

Groceries are a “rapidly growing area” for the takeaway and food delivery sector, as a report published by Just Eat has found that nearly a quarter of people in Ireland have used a food delivery service to order groceries in the past year. Ellen O’Regan has the details.

Irish supermarket inflation has fallen to its lowest level this year with retail analysts Kantar reporting a rate of 15.8 per cent over the last month compared with the 16.5 per cent recorded four weeks ago. Conor Pope has the story.

Representatives of AIB and the Financial Services Union will attend the Workplace Relations Commission on Tuesday as the union seeks to have the terms of a three-year deal on pay agreed in 2022 revised in the wake of higher than expected inflation. Emmet Malone reports.

The Tax Appeals Commission (TAC) has dismissed an appeal by a civil servant and remote worker that €3,355 in radon remediation works at his home cannot be written off against his taxable income. Gordon Deegan has the story.

LinkedIn has appointed a new country manager for its Irish business, with current head of global public policy and economic graph team Sue Duke stepping into the role. Ciara O’Brien has the details.

Ireland has been given the green light by the European Commission to postpone a number of its targets in an application for funding to deal with the costs of the Covid-19 pandemic and to meet climate and digitalisation goals.

In Your Money, Dominic Coyle seeks to untangle a mess created by a grandmother’s home that never went to probate and looks at what can be done for apartment owners hit with previous owner’s fees, while Fiona Reddan asks what tax rebates may come out of October’s Budget.

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