The Government faces a “mammoth task” getting its landmark auto-enrolment (AE) pension scheme up and running by the end of next year, according to the head of insurance brokerage Aon Ireland, which runs the largest employee benefits consultancy in the State. “With currently 750,000 workers in the country having no private pension, auto-enrolment is absolutely the right thing to do. But it’s going to be a huge uphill struggle to get it in place by the end of next year, in my personal view,” Aon Ireland chief executive Rachael Ingle said. Joe Brennan has the details.
I don’t remember, writes Pilita Clark, exactly when the thought struck me but at some point this year I realised that if employers did an audit to see how many of their staff were trying to work while taking care of an ageing relative, the results would be stunning. Almost overnight it seemed every second person I knew in their 40s or 50s was struggling to fit caring duties into a busy day job, with highly mixed results.
Irish commercial construction activity slowed in August to levels last seen in early 2021, when the industry was hit by Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, according to a new report. The latest BNP Paribas Real Estate Ireland construction purchasing managers survey showed that the contraction of commercial activity dragged on wider construction activity in the State. Joe Brennan reports.
Irish companies wishing to demonstrate their sustainability credentials and legitimacy, and to stand out amid “greenwashing noise”, should secure “B Corp” status, according to environmental consultant Dr Tara Shine of Change by Degrees, writes Kevin O’Sullivan. The Irish sustainability consultancy has joined the B Corp community of businesses committed to the highest standards of social and environmental impact. In gaining certification the Kinsale-based company founded by Dr Shine and Madeleine Murray joins 20 B Corp companies in Ireland. B Corp certificates are awarded by B Lab, a global non-profit organisation.
Budget 2024 should mark the first step in building out a better economic model, predicated on inclusive and sustainable improvements in living standards. It should not be a tax cutting budget, argues Own Reidy, general secretary of Ictu. Proposed cuts to income tax rates or bands and to the Universal Social Charge have all been flagged in the media. Such moves would be extremely regressive. The evidence is clear that higher income households will disproportionately benefit from such changes.
AIB has warned customers to beware of a number of new investment scams in circulation targeting people in the Republic, where the names and job titles of genuine bank staff are used by fraudsters to entice individuals to part with their money. Most of these scams bear similar hallmarks with minor variations, with fraudsters contacting individuals purporting to offer investment products often from legitimate, well-known names in financial services, the bank said. Joe Brennan reports.
Dominic Coyle’s Q&A on personal finance deals with this question: “I know from reading your articles that one can effectively gift €3,000 per year to a grandchild without any tax consequences for either party. Obviously, this requires a bank or credit union account. Can a grandparent open up an account for a grandchild?”
After attending the glitzy launch of Apple’s new iPhone 15 range in California, Irish Times business and technology journalist Ciara O’Brien joins Inside Business host Ciaran Hancock to pore over the incremental changes in the company’s new handsets. They are lighter, stronger and have a better camera, but with the iPhone 15 Pro starting at €1,239, are they worth the money? Plus, we go to journalist Hugo McCafferty in Italy to hear how a blue crab invasion is wreaking havoc on the seafood industry there.
Stay up to date with all our business news: sign up to our Business Today daily email news digest. If you’d like to read more about the issues that affect your finances try signing up to On the Money, the weekly newsletter from our personal finance team, which will be issued every Friday to Irish Times subscribers.
