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Information note on Coursework in new specifications 2021 EV p9 Economics

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Economics Digital Coursework Booklet 2023

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Economics Student Research Study- Learning Path

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Economics Student Research Study- Learning Path

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Official education portal of the Department of Education and Skills in Ireland. Curriculum focused resources and support for primary and post primary teachers.

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Key Economic Indicator- CSO visualisation tools

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Key Economic Indicator- CSO visualisation tools

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Key Economic Indicators Dashboard | CSO Ireland

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This is a set of key economic indicators produced by the CSO. It is divided into three themes - Macroeconomic, Business and People. This is a live dashboard which regularly updates with the most recent information available for each indicator.

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Central Bank Quarterly economic Bulletin Q2 2022

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Central Bank Quarterly economic Bulletin Q2 2022

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Read our latest assessment of the Irish and euro area economies in our latest Quarterly Bulletin No.2 2022.

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Good sources of Economic data around Economic Growth, Inflation, Trade & Employment.

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This page of curated content was developed by the PDST Digital Technologies team to support schools and teachers engaged in distance learning in order to provide continuity to pupils/students. Using some of the online platforms and/or tools that are detailed on this page, schools will be enabled to limit the impact of school closures by giving learners access to materials, support, classwork and feedback. By using the online tools explored on this page:

Teachers can easily make educational resources and exercises available to learners, who can then study and complete assignments from home.

Depending on the digital tools available to each school, teachers could also use flipped learning strategies to source and/or create online lessons that learners can access remotely.

Learners can complete activities digitally that demonstrate their understanding, with teachers being able to provide feedback to improve the learning experience.

Learners' knowledge and understanding can be effectively demonstrated using some of the edtech tools explored on this webpage (eg. Edpuzzle, Flip, Kahoot, Quizlet and WizerMe).

Platforms to support distance learning

Click on the images and links below to find out more about the various platforms and their online features that can be used to support teaching and learning remotely.

Click on the images and links below to find out where reliable sources of information can be accessed and to explore online tools that can be used to support teaching and learning remotely.

Other useful websites and resources

Scoilnet is the Department of Education's official online portal for Irish education and contains over 20,000 resources mapped to the Irish curriculum. All students and teachers can access Britannica School, an online encyclopedia through Scoilnet.

Teachers can create a free Scoilnet account and upload their resources to share with other teachers and students throughout the country.

Teachers now have access to the Irish Newspaper Archive (via a Scoilnet Account sign in. Click here for more information.

Additional links from PDST Technology in Education to support teachers working from home, including links to good practice videos that contain activities which can be adapted for online teaching. Digital learning planning resources are also available, please visit PDST Technology in Education for more information.

There is a variety of short online courses available which teachers can access to upskill in the area of digital technologies. Please visit the PDST Technology in Education website - Online Courses section to view the current selection available.

As pupils/students will also be engaging in online learning at home throughout this period, we would advise teachers and parents to visit the Webwise website to find out more about online safety and relevant considerations. The parents section of the website is also particularly useful in highlighting popular apps and their features.

PDST Technology in Education Newsletter - Latest Edition

A copy of this newsletter has been sent to all teachers on the PDST Technology in Education mailing list. To sign up for the mailing list, please click here.

To keep up to date with the latest developments, don't forget to follow us on social media
Léigh an leathanach seo as gaeilge.

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This page of curated content was developed by the PDST Digital Technologies team to support schools and teachers engaged in distance learning in order to provide continuity to pupils/students. Using some of the online platforms and/or tools that are detailed on this page, schools will be enabled to limit the impact of school closures by giving learners access to materials, support, classwork and feedback.

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Working with Online Sources of Data & Information

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Working with Online Sources of Data & Information

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The following content has been circulated by Google Workspace for Education* and added to by our PDST Digital Technologies Advisors formerly known as GSuite for Education
Brief Description:

Google Workspace for Education is a suite of free* Google tools and services that are tailored for schools. It is available globally to all educational institutions that qualify. Google reserves the right to determine an organisation's eligibility for Google Workspace for Education.

With Google Workspace for Education, educators and learners can avail of cloud based services such as Google Docs, Google Classroom, Google Calendar, Google Meet, Gmail and more.

* Google Workspace for Education also has some paid for models available

Google for Education provides events and training for Irish schools, along with videos from their reference schools on this webpage: https://sites.google.com/chrome-school.com/uki/events-programmes/ireland

Google Educator Group (Ireland)

This group of educators provide webinars and support materials for schools using Google Workspace for Education products. Their website can be accessed here

Getting Started:

Setting up Google Workspace for Education in your school. If you don't have the expertise within your school to do the initial setup and you should contact your ICT service provider for help to set up your educational Platform. Check out the links below to help you get set-up.

Once you have signed up for Google Workspace for education, you will have access to the core applications for communication and collaboration.

Google offers a Getting Started with Google for Education 8-week training programme. Every week a bite-size training tutorial is sent directly to your inbox. Each lesson takes less than 15 minutes to complete and provides basic training videos to get you started with Google Workspace for Education. Visit here to sign up: https://teachercenter.withgoogle.com/gettingstarted

Google Digital Maturity Framework

As you take stock and assess where you and your school is at in terms of your digital maturity, consider using Google's helpful Digital Maturity Framework as part of your data gathering process.

Distance Learning Supports:

Google's Applied Digital Skills team created 4 new landing pages to help teachers and learners during the challenging Coronavirus situation:

Back to School 202 2: Start the school year by incorporating digital skills lessons in your class to jumpstart student engagement.

Teach from anywhere: Keep your students learning with these lessons to teach digital skills, even when you're not together.

Learn from anywhere: These lessons show you how to learn effectively using digital tools, from the comfort of your own home.

Work from anywhere: Use these lessons to learn digital skills that will keep you working efficiently, even when you can't communicate in person.

Google has created a hub called Teach from Home with information on:

Teaching remotely with video

Teaching remotely without video

Managing the virtual classroom

Making lessons accessible to all

Keeping students engaged

Keeping in touch with colleagues and other teachers

Tools for Distance Learning:

Google Classroom

Google Classroom is a free web service, developed by Google for schools, that aims to simplify creating, distributing, and grading assignments in a paperless way. The primary purpose of Google Classroom is to streamline the process of sharing files between teachers and students.
https://support.google.com/edu/classroom/answer/6020265?co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop&hl=en
What can you do with Classroom?

Create assignments for learners including content such as video, PDFs, Google Docs or Google Forms surveys

Share lesson materials and resources with learners

Reuse assignments, tests or other course content in future classes

View assignments, announcements and other resources on a class resource page

Draft assignments or announcements and schedule them to post on a later date

Use Google Calendar to track assignment due dates

Set permissions on whether students can make posts or comments (or mute individual students)

Set permissions on which teachers can create and manage classrooms, or which schools within a district can use Google Classroom

Google Meet

Google Meet is a video calling tool built in to Google Workspace for Education.

What can you do with Meet?

Easy to join video calls that can be initiated through Google Calendar, Gmail and Google Classroom.

Google Forms

Manage event registrations, create a quick opinion poll, and much more. With Google Forms, you can create and analyse surveys right in your mobile or web browser-no special software required. You get instant results as they come in. And, you can summarise survey results at a glance with charts and graphs.

Forms are among the internet's most versatile tools. Whether you need a contact form or a checkout page, a survey or a student directory, a form is all you need to easily gather that information. With Google Forms, it only takes a few minutes to make one for free.

Google Forms-along with Docs, Sheets, and Slides-is part of Google's online apps suite of tools to help you get more done in your browser for free. It's easy to use and one of the simplest ways to save data directly to a spreadsheet.

When you need to gather data for your spreadsheets, a form is your best friend. In this chapter, let's take an in-depth look at Google Forms' features, hidden tools, and add-ons to help you make the forms you need in minutes.

What can you do with Forms?
Create Quizzes in Google Forms https://edu.workbencheducation.com/cwists/preview/15779x
Google Docs

Google Docs brings your documents to life with smart editing and styling tools to help you easily format text and paragraphs. Choose from hundreds of fonts, add links, images, and drawings. All for free.

Word processing for teams

Create and edit text documents right in your browser-no dedicated software required. Multiple people can work at the same time, and every change is saved automatically.
Getting Started with Google Docs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLtqkw6o-UY
Google Drive

Google Drive is a free service from Google that allows you to store files online and access them anywhere using the cloud. Google Drive also gives you access to free web-based applications for creating documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and more. Google drive is th hub where all your content is automatically saved.

Distance Learning Strategies
Link to Distance Learning Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gslpx7Q8mhc
See below to see what aspects were discussed:

6:40 -- Opportunities for engagement using Hangouts Meet, Docs and Slides

12:35 -- Tips for chunking content into shorter segments

17:25 -- Integrating Hands-on Activities

19:25 -- Using Google Forms and Quizzes

21:45 -- Using Classroom discussions and Assignments

24:39 -- Extending Hangouts Meet

30:45 -- Incorporating Social Emotional Learning

36:15 -- Incorporating Project Based Learning

39:37 -- Sharing Recordings for Make-Up Work

41:35 -- Communicating with Families

44:45 -- Working with Teacher Unions

45:32 - Working with ELLs

48:45 -- Teacher Resources

50:30 -- Hangout Premium Features Extension

Supports and Tutorial links:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzyK2mZu28iSZcZdpBATvWSYdj0RhUUmH https://padlet.com/michellebrady/gsuiteforeducation https://www.blog.google/outreach-initiatives/education/distancelearning-covid19 https://edu.google.com/latest-news/covid-19-support-resources/?modal_active=none https://teachercenter.withgoogle.com/resources/general/details?key=ahpzfmd3ZWItZWR1LXRyYWluaW5nLWNlbnRlcnIcCxIPR2VuZXJhbFJlc291cmNlGICAqKzjo8cIDA https://www.blog.google/outreach-initiatives/education/covid19-chromebooks/ https://www.blog.google/outreach-initiatives/education/ Google Hangouts Meet - Enabling Recording - Watch Video
Webinars
Past webinars:
A range of previously screened webinars are available to watch on demand at educationonair.withgoogle.com

Creating a Google Classroom Webinar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4uUEJ78t-o

End of year platform tips
https://www.controlaltachieve.com/2019/05/classroom-cleanup.html https://support.google.com/edu/classroom/answer/6149813?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform=Desktop https://support.google.com/edu/classroom/answer/7449476?hl=en&ref_topic=9049977 https://source.mpls.k12.mn.us/google-classroom-archive-or-delete-a-class https://www.backupify.com/blog/the-11-steps-to-take-before-you-delete-a-user-from-a-google-apps-domain
Social Media Links

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The following content has been circulated by Google Workspace for Education* and added to by our PDST Digital Technologies Advisors formerly known as GSuite for Education Google Workspace for Education is a suite of free* Google tools and services that are tailored for schools. It is available globally to all educational institutions that qualify.

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How to create a chart from a table in PxStat

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The following content has been circulated by Microsoft for Education and added to by our team of PDST Digital Technologies advisors.

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The PDST website www.pdst.ie will be used to keep teachers informed of the most recent information regarding the implementation of the specification and the details of upcoming supports as they are offered.

This section of the Scoilnet website provides teachers with access to the support material used by PDST at their CPD events. To register for an upcoming PDST event, visit the PDST event page.

Full Day Workshops/Seminars

These full-day workshops/seminars were offered in locations across the country this year and more workshops/seminars will be offered as this specification is embedded in schools. The content of these days is based on the needs of teachers which become evident over time.

Webinars

Webinars will build on a specific idea which was explored in the full day seminars in order to further inform teachers about that idea but also to allow the teacher to further explore the topic at their own pace.

Webinar 4

The Economics of Sustainable Development
The focus of this webinar centres on the components of sustainable development carefully mapped to the Leaving Certificate Economics Specification and looks at how the study of economics can help assist sustainable development into the future. Dr Lisa Ryan, Assistant Professor of Energy Economics, School of Economics UCD presents a useful toolkit to assess sustainable development with particular emphasis on
- Market failures and externalities
- Policy instrument design
-Benefit-cost analysis

The webinar also features ideas for research topics for economists with a host of links, data and useful information
Economics Webinar 4 Support Materials
Economics of Sustainable Development Presentation Slides

School Support Visits

The PDST school support service is available to all teachers of Economics whereby an advisor can be requested to visit the school and work with teachers on site in relation to supporting the implementation of the new specification. This service depends on the capacity of the team and may not be available for every school in the country.To avail of school based support for Economics: Follow this link to PDST online form.

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What you need...

To register for a Scoilnet Account you will need to have a Teaching Council number and a roll number for your school in Ireland.

If you already have a Scoilnet Account then you can sign in here.

The benefits...

A Scoilnet account will allow you to upload your resources or weblinks to Scoilnet as well as enabling you to share and add resources to a favourites listing. Users who have a Scoilnet Account will also be able to fully access Scoilnet Maps and Census@School from home.

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Official education portal of the Department of Education and Skills in Ireland. Curriculum focused resources and support for primary and post primary teachers.

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Quarterly Economic Commentary, Spring 2022: War to intensify inflation, supply chain problems

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This is a Politics and Society Resource that may be adapted for the use in the Economics classroom 

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Advice to students when writing extended answers

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Advice to students when writing extended answers

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Gapminder uses cookies to improve its statistics and user experience. By continuing to use the site you agree to our cookie policy. X
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Project and Practical Coursework Section

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The Research Study- Building on Experience Resources

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The Research Study- Building on Experience Resources

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Updated Guidelines - The Research study- Building on Experience 

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Updated Guidelines - The Research study- Building on Experience 

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View the interactive image by Regina Casey

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Economics HL Marking Scheme 2021 - Research study rubric on pages 36-38

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Economics HL Marking Scheme 2022 HL - Research study rubric p 41-44

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The Research Study- Building on Experience Webinar

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The Research Study- Building on Experience Webinar

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The Research Study - Building on Experience

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This unit explores how developing student reflection can allow students to take more responsibility for their own learning and progress. It presents lots of strategies that you can use or adapt when helping students to reflect on their learning.

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Focus on Learning. Assessment at junior cycle places the student at the centre of the learning process allowing for new ways of learning and a broader range of…

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An Integrated Approach to Learning, Teaching and Assessment

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An Integrated Approach to Learning, Teaching and Assessment

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This list contains a number of websites which may be useful for students and teachers to acquire relevant and reliable information and data.

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World Trade Organisation
An international organization dealing with the global rules of trade. Provides a range of trade statistics,economic analysis and research that aims to deepen understanding about trends in trade, trade policy issues and the multilateral trading system.

An international organization dedicated to providing financing, advice and research to low and middle income nations to aid their economic advancement.It provides a range of statistics, data and research information on development issues presented in a variety of formats including interactive visualisation tools.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialised agency of the United Nations which seeks to build peace through international cooperation in education, the sciences and culture. Access to statistics, research publications, multimedia archives, a digital library and links to ​http://uis.unesco.org/​ database for sustainable development goals.

Our World in Data
Brings together the data and research on long-run trends reshaping our world. Interactive data visualizations show how the world has changed and uses scientific literature to explain why in an attempt to understand some of the world's largest problems.

Online data visualisation tools for exploring a wide range of global statistics.

Scoilnet - Digital Tools
Scoilnet has licensed a number of digital tools for schools such as the Irish Newspaper Archive, Irish Times Archive, World Book Online, JSTOR, and Dictionary of Irish Biography.

Either your browser does not support JavaScript or it is disabled. Scoilnet.ie works best with JavaScript enabled.
Add a resource

To get the best possible experience using our website we recommend that you upgrade to a newer version or other web browser.
Upgrade your browser now

What you need...

To register for a Scoilnet Account you will need to have a Teaching Council number and a roll number for your school in Ireland.

If you already have a Scoilnet Account then you can sign in here.

The benefits...

A Scoilnet account will allow you to upload your resources or weblinks to Scoilnet as well as enabling you to share and add resources to a favourites listing. Users who have a Scoilnet Account will also be able to fully access Scoilnet Maps and Census@School from home.

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Official education portal of the Department of Education and Skills in Ireland. Curriculum focused resources and support for primary and post primary teachers.

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Making Cool Economics Graphs with Google Drawings!

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Student self-assessment : Introduction - The Research Study

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To facilitate individuals through learning, to achieve their full potential and contribute to Ireland’s social, cultural and economic development.

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Senior Cycle Redevelopment- Business: Public Consultation phase one

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Senior Cycle Redevelopment- Business: Public Consultation phase one

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Senior cycle education is the period of education that follows the junior cycle. The Leaving Certificate programme is provided through three routes. Students have an opportunity to do a transition year between junior cycle and senior cycle.

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Senior Cycle is being redeveloped following a comprehensive review process. This important work will seek to enhance the educational experience and ensure meani…

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Research: How to, Citations, Fact checking and Questions

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Research: How to, Citations, Fact checking and Questions

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Additional links from PDST Technology in Education to support teachers working from home, including links to good practice videos that contain activities which can be adapted for online teaching. Digital learning planning resources are also available, please visit PDST Technology in Education for more information.

As pupils/students will also be engaging in online learning at home througout this period, we would advise teachers and parents to visit the Webwise website to find out more about online safety and relevant considerations. The parents' section of the website is also particularly useful in highlighting popular apps and their features.

RTÉ Learn is a dedicated resource for teachers and educators showcasing a diverse range of educational content from across RTÉ, ideal for both formal and informal learning.

Beidh tús a chuir ag TG4 le clár nua sa sceideal Cúla4 ar Scoil ag 10 gach maidin.

Is clár leath uaire í seo a bheidh dírithe ar dhaltaí bunscoile Gaeltachta agus Gaelscoile atá sa mbaile ón scoil faoi láthair de bharr srianta an Covid19.

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Additional links from PDST Technology in Education to support teachers working from home, including links to good practice videos that contain activities which can be adapted for online teaching. Digital learning planning resources are also available, please visit PDST Technology in Education for more information.

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Blended Learning PDST supports Post Primary

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Blended Learning PDST supports Post Primary

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This interactive resource aims to support teachers when engaging in a blended approach to teaching, learning and assessment. The sections in the menu above outline what this approach can entail and offer some practical suggestions and case studies to highlight the various ways teachers can use

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* Transfers of functions across Departments may impact figures and comparison of expenditure across time.
** Figures for Housing expenditure prior to 2020 is amalgamated into 'Additional Departments'.

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Where Your Money Goes - Expenditure Data and Graphs broken up by sectors

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Please find below a variety of infographics addressing key topics in the area of digital technologies for teaching, learning and assessment. These resources have been created to support teachers in accessing relevant information 'at a glance' as they progress in their work engaging in distance/ blended learning, and more generally.

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Please find below a variety of infographics addressing key topics in the area of digital technologies for teaching, learning and assessment. These resources have been created to support teachers in accessing relevant information 'at a glance' as they progress in their work engaging in distance/ blended learning, and more generally.

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Employment Regulation Order from September 15th

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Employment Regulation Order from September 15th

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The Government has approved a new pay agreement which will provide pay increases and wage structure for early learning and childcare workers.

Employment Regulation Orders will commence on 15 September and will provide new minimum hourly rates of pay for various roles in the early years services sector, ranging from €13-an-hour for early years educators and school-age childcare practitioners, to €17.25-an-hour for graduate managers.

It is estimated that 73% of those working in the sector will see their wages rise as a result of the Employment Regulation Orders.

"I am very pleased to approve these Employment Regulation Orders which will commence on 15 September," said Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail Damien English.

"The proposals submitted to me will apply to some 27,000 staff and are a welcome acknowledgement of the importance of the work carried out by everyone working in the early learning and childcare sector," he added.

The Employment Regulation Orders are being supported by the Government's €221m Core Funding Scheme, which will see increases in funding to early learning and childcare services to support improvements in staff wages, alongside a commitment to freeze parental fees.

The Core Funding Scheme was announced by Minister for Children Roderic O'Gorman as part of Budget 2022.

"I have always said that I believe early years educators and school-age childcare practitioners need their pay and conditions to reflect the importance of the work they do," Minister O'Gorman said.

"Today's announcement is an historic first step towards that," he added.

SIPTU, which has 6,000 members in the early childcare and education sector, has welcomed the pay agreement.

"Low pay has caused a staffing crisis in early years as services struggle to recruit and retain staff," SIPTU Head of Organising Darragh O'Connor said.

"This pay deal, and future pay increases, mean that early years professionals can plan to stay in their chosen profession in the long term," he added.

Childhood Services Ireland (CSI), the Ibec group that represents the childcare sector in Ireland, said the new pay agreement will help improve staff retention and quality, but cautioned that it will be unsustainable for many childcare providers without ambitious support from the Government's Core Funding Scheme.

"With increasing inflationary pressures and a freeze on parental fees, childcare services will struggle to sustain higher wages and will be forced to close their doors without significant Government investment," said CSI Director Darragh Whelan.

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Pay increases for childcare sector approved

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The Government has approved a new pay agreement which will provide pay increases and wage structure for early learning and childcare workers. Employment Regulation Orders will commence on 15 September and will provide new minimum hourly rates of pay for various roles in the early years services sector, ranging from €13-an-hour for early years educators and school-age childcare practitioners, to €17.25-an-hour for graduate managers.

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A new report has revealed record levels of hiring by Irish businesses but also shows that many are struggling to fill vacancies.

According to the latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey, employers of all sizes plan to expand headcount significantly.

The study shows that Ireland has recorded the highest net employment outlook in Europe, closely followed by Finland and the Netherlands.

The banking, finance, insurance and property sector is seeing the strongest level of hiring intentions.

Employers in Dublin are reporting their highest hiring outlook on record with other regions also showing robust employment trends.

"The Capital's record hiring is driven by the ever-strong IT and tech sector holding its strong performance from last quarter and is boosted by all-time high hiring outlooks from the Dublin-based finance sector, hospitality sector, and construction sector," said John Galvin, Managing Director, ManpowerGroup Ireland.

Amid the hiring surge, 79% of employers are having difficulties filling vacancies, which is up 7 percentage-points on the previous quarter.

"As evident in markets across the world, employers are struggling to find applicants with the right skillsets for their needs," said Mr Galvin.

"Candidates with in-demand skills have more choice and bargaining power than ever before, and employers need to look at talent-sustainable solutions if they want to attract and retain these candidates," he added.

The ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey is based on responses from 425 employers across Ireland.

It asks whether employers intend to hire additional workers or reduce the size of their workforce in the coming quarter.

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79% of businesses struggling to fill vacancies

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A new report has revealed record levels of hiring by Irish businesses but also shows that many are struggling to fill vacancies. According to the latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey, employers of all sizes plan to expand headcount significantly. The study shows that Ireland has recorded the highest net employment outlook in Europe, closely followed by Finland and the Netherlands.

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Salaries for top roles in the cash-rich finance and technology sectors may be up by one fifth, but it isn't just in multinationals that employers face demands to pay more. Some indigenous SMEs are also feeling the heat, if for different reasons.

Sam Donnelly runs Sam's Barbers, a chain of seven salons in Dublin. He pays his staff of almost 40 in or around the "living wage", which is estimated by civil society and worker groups to be €12.90 per hour. His employees also get commissions for how many haircuts they do each week.

A good barber usually earned commission of about €250 per week before the pandemic, he says. But with business in its city locations still down by almost 40 per cent as office workers keep working from home, commissions have dropped to about €100. "And that's if they're lucky," says Donnelly.

The average barber's weekly pay has fallen from more than €700 to about €550.

"Now they want to make up the difference with salary increases and I can't afford it. There is only so much extra cost I can push onto customers," he says.

Donnelly has so far held the line on hourly rates. This has cost him barbers. Sam's operates as a cashless chain - it only accepts card payments and most business is pre-booked online. Donnelly believes many other barbers outlets are paying their staff extra cash under the table.

"In three different interviews we did recently, when the candidate was told the hourly rate, they asked us how much extra cash we'd give them at the end of the week on top of that. They tell you what they want and walk away if they don't get it," says Donnelly, a national council member of the Small and Medium Enterprises Association (Isme).

He also owns two coffee shops. Baristas, too, are "naming their price".

"I want to look after my staff because, without them, I'd have nothing. I don't want slave labour. But this is putting me in a real rut."

Inflation

Currently, the only way is up for the pay rates of most Irish workers. Recruiters say increases are "across the board" as general inflation of more than 5 per cent prompts employees to seek to protect their standard of living. Wages across the economy were up by an average of 5.4 per cent in the third quarter of last year, according to the Central Statistics Office.

Labour shortages in the tightest of markets are compounding the effect for many employers.

Unions have suggested workers should seek further increases of 2.5 to 4.5 per cent in 2022, while Bank of Ireland's research suggests most workers will expect 3 to 4 per cent. In reality, many, especially those who change jobs or threaten to do so, will see even bigger increases in 2022.

At the lower end of the scale of increases, public sector workers recently got a rise of 1 per cent last October, with the same again due later this year. Construction workers negotiated a 2.8 per cent pay rise from this month, with a similar rise locked in for February next year. The rise this month brings the industry-wide hourly rate for many construction craft workers up to at least €20.52 per hour, as part of a sectoral employment order overseen by the Government.

"But the management professionals, the engineers and project managers - they're commanding much more serious increases," says Tom Parlon, the director general of the Construction Industry Federation. Figures from recruitment firm Hays Ireland suggest some top construction professionals saw their wage rates rise by 8 to 10 per cent last year.

A salary calculator from Morgan McKinley, another recruitment firm that is predicting large increases for 2022, estimates the rates that professionals in the sector can now expect. It suggests structural engineers with five years' experience can expect up to €80,000, while an experienced quantity surveyor might be paid up to €110,000 in Dublin, or €90,000 if located in Galway.

Ulster Bank staff will be balloted shortly on a deal negotiated this week by the Financial Services Union (FSU), which includes "inflation-proofed" pay rises of 4 to 6.5 per cent. Entry-level bank workers will now start on salaries of more than €30,000 per year.

The FSU says it has lodged similar pay claims at Permanent TSB and AIB. A pay claim of a similar magnitude with Bank of Ireland has been referred to the Workplace Relations Commission.

Hospitality

Hospitality businesses, hollowed out by the pandemic, will struggle to afford any increases, as will many retailers. But it won't stop the upwards pressure from modestly-paid staff who are at the sharp end of the impact of inflation.

Some major players in the grocery retail sector, meanwhile, are set to share the spoils from the bumper trading of the pandemic. Lidl, which already pays staff at least the living wage (€2.40 per hour above the €10.50 legal minimum rate), this month announced average pay rises of 5 per cent for its workers.

"Where employers can afford pay rises, they should do them," the Tánaiste, Leo Varadkar, said last month. Of all employers, multinationals are most able to afford it. Pay inflation is rampant among the white-collar professionals who work for foreign direct investment (FDI) employers, and the local professional firms that service them.

The increases are driven by the pandemic, which staunched the flow of internationally-mobile professionals, many of whom change jobs every few years anyway to boost their earning power. This has provided a boon for the wages of locally-based professionals, who are cashing in.

"I'm 16 years in recruitment and I've never seen it like this before," says Trayc Keevans, the global FDI director at Morgan McKinley. She says most jobseekers in relevant sectors will have "five or six" job offers if they are willing to move. Most can expect counteroffers from existing employers.

The salary estimates from firms such as Morgan McKinley, Hays and Robert Walters all broadly tally - some sought-after roles saw pay rates rise by 15-20 per cent or even more in the last year. Salaries for many roles are expected to go up by a further 5-10 per cent in 2022, or by close to a fifth for a select few niche professionals in high demand.

The technology, finance and pharmaceuticals sectors that are dominated by foreign employers lead the way. According to Morgan McKinley's salary calculator, the average tax accountant with five years or more experience can expect up to €75,000, while a senior tax manager may get up to €110,000. The head of IT at a large firm can expect up €160,000.

Buoyant sector

In the perpetually buoyant tech sector, Hays Ireland cites current average salaries of €76,000 for full stack developers, while Morgan McKinley suggests experienced software development architects can expect to be paid up to €100,000.

As the staffing crisis bites and companies beef up their human resource departments to cope with a perpetual hiring process, recruiters themselves are in high demand and this is being reflected in their pay. It costs up to €80,000 per year to hire a typical talent acquisition partner, and up to €120,000 for a head of the recruiting function, Morgan McKinley says.

Corporate lawyers, scientists for the biopharma industry and data centre managers are all in desperately short supply, driving up wage rates.

"It will not be beneficial to anyone if this sort of salary inflation continues," says Keevans. "If it keeps up, it may make Ireland less competitive."

For now, she says, Ireland remains broadly competitive with other European locations, most of whom face similar pressures. But Dublin, a major European tech hub, may soon be in danger of becoming uncompetitive when it comes to pay for software engineers.

Keevans believes the current spike in wage inflation will even out over the year as the flow of international workers picks up again: "But if it doesn't, some employers are going to have to take a stand and say 'we can't keep doing this'."

Maureen Lynch, a director of Hays Ireland, says reported delays of up to 12 weeks in processing visas for international workers is not helping the situation.

"It is creating a fantastic opportunity for local professionals. That's where the salary inflation is coming from," she says. "The sustainability question is real: just how far can organisations go on pay? But it isn't all about salaries. There are other things to consider."

Generous benefits packages, including healthcare and gym membership, are now standard in many executive roles. But Lynch says any organisation that isn't offering a degree of remote working needs to consider it, as it is expected by many employees. Some FDI companies are said to be using the "carrot" of six weeks each year based abroad to hire foreign staff.

"Also, in lockdown, you had people in Cork, Limerick and Waterford taking jobs in Dublin on Dublin salaries," says Lynch. Take a newly qualified accountant outside of Dublin with two years experience who might normally be on €50,000. Suddenly they get €60,000.

"As working from home ends and staff have to go back to the office at least part-time, they will look at their salary and probably still be prepared to go to Dublin two days per week."

Smaller employers

Smaller indigenous employers seeking professionals cannot match the salaries on offer in FDI companies. But some staff do jump ship from FDI employers to local businesses to be "closer to decision-making level", says Lynch.

Economist Tom O'Donnell, the co-director of left-leaning think tank, the Nevin Economic Research Institute (Neri), said it is inevitable that indigenous employers will come under pressure to keep up with foreign firms' pay rates.

"There will be significant wage inflation [in the domestic sector]. It is reasonable to expect across the board pay increases. If you don't want churn, you need to pay your staff. It is not up to workers to ask for lower increases. The Government must try to control inflation but a lot of this is also out of our hands."

He cites energy costs as an example. O'Donnell says a defining factor in the current round of wage rises will be whether elevated levels of inflation in the economy are temporary, as central bankers insist, or if it sticks for longer. For now, the Central Bank of Ireland says it does not see evidence of a wage-price spiral.

"But if inflation stays above 5 per cent and this is going to be sustained, then wage claims need to be even higher," says O'Donnell. "If the inflation problem is Europe-wide, there is no reason why Ireland should lose competitiveness."

A sensible course of action may be for short-term pay agreements between employers and unions, he says.

Flexible working

Back in the indigenous SME sector, the ability to fund pay increases is a real problem. The most recent research from Isme, in a trends report late last year, suggested 30 per cent of smaller businesses couldn't afford any pay rises, up from 17 per cent in the middle of the year.

"Work contracts are going to get revised with flexible working and other changes," says Neil McDonnell, Isme's chief executive. "There might be an opportunity there to net that off with pay increases for some employers. But the market is fluid. It really is a jobseeker's market."

Many SME owners quote the housing crisis as a complicating factor.

"We have employees coming in and explaining how they need an increase to pay rent and when our HR try to help with the financial planning, they need an increase or more overtime," said Ciarán Murtagh, the managing director of midlands precast concrete company, and Isme member, Shay Murtagh.

At Sam's Barbers, Donnelly believes the Government should give an incentive to cashless businesses such as his, to help it compete with other businesses that use under-the-table cash payments to get an edge in the employment market.

He suggests a cut in employers' PRSI for cashless businesses, which would reduce the overall cost of employment and give headroom to compete with the black market on pay.

"It would flush out the cash-in-hand businesses. We need to do something, because if we can't get staff because we can't afford the pay rates, how will we ever expand?"

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Inflation is upending the labour market, so where will it end?

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Indigenous employers struggle to keep pace as FDI companies hike pay rates

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Contact:

Central Statistics Office
Skehard Road, Cork T12 X00E, Ireland

Tel:

(+353) 21 453 5000

E-Mail:

information@cso.ie

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Earnings - CSO - Central Statistics Office

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Central Statistics Office Skehard Road, Cork T12 X00E, Ireland

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Eurostat is the statistical office of the European Union. Its mission is to provide high quality statistics and data on Europe.

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Source: CSO, accessed May 31st 2022

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Preasráiteas

31 May 2022

Average weekly earnings increased 2.3% in the year to Q1 2022

Average weekly earnings were €880.37 in Q1 2022, an increase of 2.3% from €860.19 in Q1 2021

Average hourly earnings increased by 1.9% to €27.33 from €26.83 in Q1 2021

Average weekly paid hours increased by 0.3% to 32.2 hours from 32.1 in Q1 2021

The job vacancy rate at the end of Q1 2022 was 1.6%, up from 1.4% at the end of Q4 2021 and up from 1.0% at the end of Q1 2021

Average hourly other labour costs increased by 36.0% to €3.63 from €2.67 in Q1 2021

In the Accommodation & food services sector, Employee Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) payments represented 35.9% of total earnings, while in the Arts, entertainment, recreation & other service activities sector it was 11.8%

Go to release: Earnings and Labour Costs Q4 2021 (Final) Q1 2022 (Preliminary Estimates)

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (31 May 2022) issued Earnings and Labour Costs results in respect of Preliminary estimates for Q1 2022 and Final estimates for Q4 2021.

Commenting on the release, Louise Egan, Statistician, noted the impact of COVID-19 on the results:

" When considering the change in earnings, it should be noted that there may be a compositional effect due to the significant changes in employment in certain sectors. The composition of the labour market in Q1 2022 may be very different to previous quarters. The accompanying Labour Market Bulletin Insight Series gives greater detail on compositional changes in employment in certain sectors."

Explaining the background to the release and outlining the headline results being presented today, Louise Egan continued:

" The Earnings and Labour Costs quarterly release publishes statistics on average weekly and hourly earnings, hours and labour costs. Across and within economic sectors, the impact of the COVID-19 crisis continues to be experienced very differently. Preliminary estimates for Q1 2022 show average hourly earnings increased on an annual basis by 1.9% to €27.33 while average weekly paid hours increased by 0.3% to 32.2 hours from 32.1 in Q1 2021. Average weekly earnings were €880.37, an increase of 2.3% compared with €860.19 in Q1 2021. The job vacancy rate in Q1 2022, which measures job vacancies on the last working day of the quarter, was 1.6%, up from 1.4% at the end of Q4 2021 and up from 1.0% at the end of Q1 2021. Average hourly other labour costs increased by 36.0% to €3.63 from €2.67 in Q1 2021. Refunded payments to enterprises, including EWSS, are recorded as subsidies and refunds received in the quarter, being amounts received by enterprises intended to refund part or all of the cost of wages and salaries and are deducted from other labour costs. "

Referring to the separate Labour Market Bulletin Insight Series also being published by the CSO today, Morgan O'Donnell, Statistician, commented:

" Today, the Labour Market and Earnings division in the CSO have also published the eleventh bulletin from the Labour Market Insight Series. The data used for the bulletin is sourced from administrative datasets, namely the Revenue Commissioner's employee level tax data which includes information in relation to the EWSS, as well as data provided from Revenue in relation to the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS).
Analysis presented in the bulletin supports results observed in the Earnings and Labour Costs release in relation to the quarterly changes in employments and earnings at a sectoral level between Q4 2021 and Q1 2022. It also presents analysis of the impact of the EWSS in both quarters. Key findings from the bulletin include a decrease in the number of active employments in Q1 2022 when compared to Q4 2021. The sectors showing the largest percentage decrease in employments from Q4 2021 to Q1 2022 were the Accommodation & food services sector (-5.3%) and the Transportation & storage sector (-3.9%). Average weekly pay (including EWSS where applicable) increased by 4.3% across all employments between Q4 2021 and Q1 2022. The sectors showing the largest quarterly percentage increase in average weekly pay were the Administrative & support service activities sector (+16.5%), the Financial, insurance & real estate activities sector (+11.8%) and the Industry sector (+7.4%). For employments that were active in both Q4 2021 and Q1 2022, average weekly earnings increased by 5.9%, with changes by sectors ranging from an increase of 22.7% in the Financial, insurance & real estate activities sector to a decrease of 3.4% in the Construction sector. In relation to the EWSS, in Q1 2022, 12% of active employments in NACE sectors B-S were directly supported by the scheme. The proportion of employments supported by the EWSS in Q1 2022 varied across the sectors with the Accommodation & food services sector (65.5%) and the Arts, entertainment, recreation & other service activities sector (36.2%) having the highest proportions and the Public administration & defence sector (0.2%) having the lowest proportion. Analysis presented in the bulletin supports results observed in the Earnings and Labour Costs release in relation to the quarterly changes in employments and earnings at a sectoral level between Q4 2021 and Q1 2022. It also presents analysis of the impact of the EWSS in both quarters. Key findings from the bulletin include a decrease in the number of active employments in Q1 2022 when compared to Q4 2021. The sectors showing the largest percentage decrease in employments from Q4 2021 to Q1 2022 were the Accommodation & food services sector (-5.3%) and the Transportation & storage sector (-3.9%). Average weekly pay (including EWSS where applicable) increased by 4.3% across all employments between Q4 2021 and Q1 2022. The sectors showing the largest quarterly percentage increase in average weekly pay were the Administrative & support service activities sector (+16.5%), the Financial, insurance & real estate activities sector (+11.8%) and the Industry sector (+7.4%). For employments that were active in both Q4 2021 and Q1 2022, average weekly earnings increased by 5.9%, with changes by sectors ranging from an increase of 22.7% in the Financial, insurance & real estate activities sector to a decrease of 3.4% in the Construction sector. In relation to the EWSS, in Q1 2022, 12% of active employments in NACE sectors B-S were directly supported by the scheme. The proportion of employments supported by the EWSS in Q1 2022 varied across the sectors with the Accommodation & food services sector (65.5%) and the Arts, entertainment, recreation & other service activities sector (36.2%) having the highest proportions and the Public administration & defence sector (0.2%) having the lowest proportion. EWSS payments accounted for 2.5% of total earnings across all sectors (B-S) in Q1 2022, down from 4% in Q4 2021. In the Accommodation & food services sector EWSS payments represented 35.9% of total earnings, while in the Arts, entertainment, recreation & other service activities sector and the Transportation & storage sector, the proportions were 11.8% and 5.5% respectively."
Referring to the ongoing reporting difficulties being faced by enterprises due to COVID-19, Louise Egan explained:

" Preliminary estimates for Q1 2022 continue to be impacted by lower response rates than in 2019.

The sectors particularly impacted by low rates of survey response were Construction, Transport & storage and Accommodation & food services sector. Caution is therefore advised in relation to the Preliminary estimates published today." (Please see the updated Technical Note - Impact of COVID-19 on the Earnings and Labour Costs release - updated Quarter 1 2022 for more information).

-- ENDS --

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Press Statement Earnings and Labour Costs Quarter 4 2021 (Final) Quarter 1 2022 (Preliminary Estimates)

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31 May 2022 Average weekly earnings increased 2.3% in the year to Q1 2022 Average weekly earnings were €880.37 in Q1 2022, an increase of 2.3% from €860.19 in Q1 2021 Average hourly earnings increased by 1.9% to €27.33 from €26.83 in Q1 2021 Average weekly paid hours increased by

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Census of Agriculture 2020 Detailed Results

CSO statistical publication, 26 May 2022, 11am

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Census of Agriculture 2020 Detailed Results

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Home / Statistics /Census of Agriculture 2020 Detailed Results

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The Statista "Chart of the Day" currently focuses on two sectors: "Media and Technology", updated daily and featuring the latest statistics from the media, internet, telecommunications and consumer electronics industries; and "Economy and Society", which current data from the United States and around the world relating to economic and political issues as well as sports and entertainment.

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Infographic: Energy Prices Keep Climbing in the EU

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This chart shows the energy inflation rates in the EU since 2018.

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Quarterly Economic Commentary, Spring 2022: War to intensify inflation, supply chain problems

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Ryanair said it flew 15.9 million passengers in September, its third busiest month ever and up 13% on pre-Covid levels as the carrier consolidates its position as Europe's largest airline by passenger numbers.

The jump in traffic meant Ryanair also flew more passengers in September than in any of its busiest summer months before the Covid-19 pandemic struck.

Until this year, its busiest month was August 2019 when it carried 14.9 million passengers.

The airline, which unlike many airlines kept its pilots and crew up-to-date with their flying hours during the pandemic to take advantage of the swift rebound this year, said it flew a record 16.9 million passengers in August.

The average proportion of empty seats per flight rose last month to 6%, up from 4% in August and 3% in September 2019.

Ryanair has said it expects to fly 166.5 million passengers in the year to the end of March, significantly ahead of its previous annual record of 149 million reached before the pandemic brought the travel industry to a standstill.

The airline said it operated a total of 88,850 flights in September.

So far this year, Ryanair has carried 153 million passengers, a jump of 209% on 49.5 million passengers it had carried the same time last year.

Ryanair shares ended higher in Dublin trade today.

Meanwhile, Ryanair has today announced a new route from Dublin to Cluj in Romania as part of its winter schedule.

It said the move follows Blue Air's recent suspension of this route.

"Ryanair is further building on our already extensive Dublin W22 schedule with the addition of our new Dublin to Cluj route, operating twice weekly from 1st November - just in time for those travelling home to Cluj to spend Christmas with friends and family but whose travel plans have been disrupted by Blue Air's recent suspension of this route," said Ryanair's Jason McGuinness.

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Ryanair passenger numbers up 49% in September

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Ryanair said the number of passengers it carried in September jumped by 49% as the air travel industry continued to recover from the impact of Covid-19.

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Key figures on Europe: Compare your country

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National Planning Framework Strategic Outcomes

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National Planning Framework 2040: Government Housing Plans p 93

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National Planning Framework 2040: Government Housing Plans p 93

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National Planning Framework 2040 by Sector

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National Planning Framework 2040 by Sector

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Article by Jim Power, published by charteredaccountants.ie and referenced in Research Study Brief 2022

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Article by Jim Power, published by charteredaccountants.ie and referenced in Research Study Brief 2022

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Childcare costs are often cited as a major drag on many households' budgets, with many referring to it as a second mortgage.

But how much is the average family spending on childcare? Are some counties more affordable than others, and how does Ireland stack up against its European neighbours?
So how much does childcare cost in Ireland?
The 'Early Years Sector' includes everything from creches to early education providers, community childcare facilities and so on.

State body Pobal works with community groups and organisations in a number of areas, including the Early Years Sector, and its annual report gives a lot of detail on the costs involved.

According to its 2020/21 report, the average cost of full-time childcare in Ireland last year was just shy of €187 per week.

That means, on average, you're looking at almost €810 a month - and about €9,340 euro a year on the basis of the child attending for 50 weeks per year (which takes the likes of Christmas, Easter and other holidays into account - when facilities may not charge a fee).
Does it differ county-by-county?
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Yes - and by a lot in some cases.

As you'd expect, Dublin is the most expensive place in the country for full time childcare.

Specifically, it's the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown area of Dublin that tops the table, at an average cost of €244 per week.

That's about €57 more than the national average.

Multiplied out, you're looking at €1,058 a month - and over €12,200 a year month.

The rest of Dublin is a bit cheaper - to the tune of around €30 per week - but that still makes them the next most expensive areas of the country.

After that is Wicklow, where the average cost is €213 a week - or €924 a month, or €10,670 a year.

Then we move to Cork - with Cork City costing €204 a week, and the county coming in about €10 cheaper than that.

Despite being more urban, both Limerick and Galway, are a fair bit cheaper than Dublin and Cork.

You're looking at €175 and €173 there respectively. That's €760 or €752 a month, or a bit over €8,700 a year.

And Donegal sits between those two at €174 a week.

For the lowest costs, you have to go to Carlow.

There, the average is €152 per week. That's about €659 a month, and €7,600 a year.

That means that the average parent in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown is paying about 60% more per week than the average parent in Carlow.

In real terms, that works out at an extra €92 a week - or almost €400 a month - or €4,600 a year.
Is the county the main factor that determines price?
No, there are a lot of factors - and those averages hide a lot too.

The Pobal report points out that, in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, they found one provider that was charging €324 per week - that's €1,400 a month. But in the same area there was another provider that was charging €134 a week - or a bit over €580 a month.

So that's a remarkable difference in a relatively small area.

And there are lots of other, broad factors that can have an impact.

Urban areas average out at €18 more expensive per month than rural ones, for example. A facility in a more affluent area tends to come with a €50/week premium. Private operators are, on average, €18 more expensive each week than community facilities.

But another big factor, whether it's a community or private facility, is the age of your child.

Children under one are the most expensive - and the cost falls as they get older.

The average private childcare charges more than €200 a week for a child under one - but charges a bit over €182 a week for a child that's over five.

That comes down to the fact that you need more staff for smaller children - so it's going to cost more for a facility to mind a baby compared to a toddler, or a five year old.
Is the difference in costs made up for by the different average incomes in each county?
Sometimes - but often one doesn't balance out the other.

The Central Statistics Office has data on people's disposable income, broken down on a county-by-county basis.

Its definition of disposable income is all a person's income - be it from their job or any social benefits - minus taxes and any social insurance contributions they pay.

For most workers, it's the money they have in their pay-packet following all their deductions.

According to the CSO, the average person in the country had a disposable income of €23,615 in 2020.

For the sake of comparison let's imagine a household with a small child and two adults, both on average incomes.

That means, nationally, you have a disposable income of a bit over €47,000 coming into the house.

With the average, national childcare cost works out at a little over €9,000 a year, it means that average household is directing about 20% of their income towards the cost

Dublin is the most expensive county for childcare - but incomes are, on average, higher too, so it still works out at a little over 20% of a two-household income there.

But in other parts of the country, the ratio is worse.

In Laois, for example, two average earners are directing more than 25% of their income towards what would be the average cost of childcare in that county.

Westmeath, Donegal and Offaly aren't far behind - two average earners there are spending just under 25% of their disposable income on childcare.

If you want to know where things are better - or less bad - you can look to Limerick.

That average household is directing about 17.5% of its disposable income towards childcare each month.

In Carlow, the cheapest county in the country, it is just below the 18% mark.
How much do other child-care options cost?
Some people may want to go down the route of a childminder, or even a nanny or au pair.

Getting figures on this is a little trickier because it's a less formalised part of the childcare sector.

But according to MindMe.ie - one of the country's biggest listings sites for care-givers - the cost for an in-home minder tends to be between €10 and €15 per hour.

Again it differs from county-to-county.

In more urban areas like Cork and Galway it averages at €12 an hour, while Kildare and Meath are €11-12.

Dublin, once again, is the most expensive at €15 per hour.

According to Childminding Ireland, the price of a childminder who minds a child or children in their own home is lower again. It says its members charge, on average €5 per hour, though again that may differ from place to place.
So how does all of that compare with the rest of Europe?
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Not well.

The OECD published a report comparing childcare systems across Europe back in 2020 - and it probably gives the best look at where Ireland sits in relation to its neighbours.

Based on the percentage of income that goes to childcare, Ireland the third most expensive country in the European Union - and the fourth most expensive in Europe, if you include the UK.

Cyprus is top of the table, with an average couple there having to divert 30% of their income towards childcare.

In Czechia it's 29% - as it is in the UK at the moment.

Ireland comes in next at 20%.

But things really start to drop sharply as you move across EU countries after that.

Finland, for example, is next at 15%, then there's The Netherlands at 12%.

And at the bottom end of the table, you see that the average couple in Greece puts just 6% of their income to childcare. In Germany it's as low as 1% - while in Italy it's zero.
How is there such a big difference?
What's interesting when you look at this OECD survey is that, in terms of the overall cost of childcare, Ireland isn't quite as bad as those figures may lead you to believe.

The country is still near the top of the table in terms of gross cost, and still well above the EU average - but we're actually behind the likes of Greece, The Netherlands and Luxembourg, and just ahead of Italy.

And yet, when it comes to how much people actually have to put towards childcare, we're in a much worse position than those countries.

And the reason for that is that these countries use a range of measure - like grants and tax reliefs - to allow parents to recoup a sizable proportion or, in some cases, the entire amount.

Some countries heavily subsidising it at source, or else the system is largely state-run, so the cost is absorbed into their exchequer.
Let's look at some specific examples...
It can be hard to compare like with like, because each country takes a different tact in terms of how they deliver childcare and how they cover the cost.

But let's look at Germany - and how it's possible that parents there spend just 1% of their income on childcare.
In Germany childcare is heavily subsidised by the national government, but also the regional government. And children there are legally entitled to a place in childcare from the moment they turn one.

Generally speaking the amount the parent pays is based on their income - and if they have a low income, they may pay nothing at all towards childcare.

Those with higher incomes will have to pay something - but that may be less than €100 a month. One figure suggests that, even if you're a higher earner, you would be paying just €580 a month towards it - which is about €230 less than the average parent is paying here.

Interestingly, about 10 years ago Germany also introduced a payment for parents - of €150 per month - which can be claimed if they don't make use of childcare but instead care for their young child in the home.
The Nordic countries are often seen as the gold standard - what are the systems like there?
In Sweden, all children have a right to early education from the age of one.

Their parental leave system gives 480 days between the parents, so a parent could easily take a year of paternity or maternity leave to cover the time up to that point.

When they do go into childcare, the fee for one child is capped at 3% of the parents' income.

The fee is then lower for any subsequent children, or for children of those on lower incomes.

In Denmark, the state covers 75% of the cost of a place in any publicly-funded childcare facility.

Discounts are offered to siblings, or children with special needs, and low income parents can get supports to cover the cost too.

Around 9-10% of an average couple's income is going towards childcare in Denmark.

In Finland, meanwhile, the state actually helps parents to find childminders or creche places - and the cost is heavily subsidised, again based on income, with costs of around €300 per month at the upper end.
How is that made possible?
As I mentioned, the actual cost of delivering childcare is similar in many countries - or in some cases higher than in Ireland - so essentially, it's down to how much the State is putting into childcare itself.

And you can see the gap in another chart from the OECD - though it should be said the data is from 2015, so it's a bit out of date.

But it found that Sweden was putting 1.6% of its GDP towards early childhood education and care.

In Denmark, it's about 1.3%, in Finland it's around 1.2%.

Germany is 0.6%.

Ireland, meanwhile, was bottom of the table - with just 0.3% of GDP going towards the area.

Now that difference may not seem dramatic - but you may actually be talking about billions of euro. In Ireland last year, 1% of our GDP was the equivalent of around €4.3 billion.
But of course in order to spend that extra money, it has to come from somewhere else...
Yes. As we know, and as we'll hear a lot more of in the coming weeks, outside of any dramatic change in the economy, reallocating budget resources means either take money from one area, or finding a way to increase the total amount that's coming in.

There's nothing stopping Ireland from putting more of its GDP towards childcare costs - but, outside of a sizable surplus, that money has to come from somewhere else.

The OECD itself says that the likes of the Nordic countries simply consider childcare an essential public service, so they're willing to make that trade-off.

The alternative is to have higher taxes to try to deepen the pool you can fund things from - and this is also a feature of most other European countries.

Ireland, of course, has one of the lowest Corporation Tax rates in the world - and in particular in Europe.

Our rate is currently 12.5% - but Italy is at nearly 28%.

The Netherlands' rate is 25% - the Nordic countries, meanwhile, all tax company profits at a rate of 20-22%.

So they're taking a bigger proportion of the profits made by each company than we are.

VAT is also slightly higher in Nordic countries - but perhaps the big difference is around income tax.

In Finland, a higher earner - someone earning over €83,000 a year - would be looking at a rate above 65%. But even someone on a fairly average wage - over €29,000- would be facing a rate of somewhere in the region of 50%.

In Sweden, the average rate is around 32% - but people earning over €50,000 a year get an extra 20% added to that, so that brings the rate above 50%.

Another interesting feature of the Swedish system is a fairly sizable employer contribution, too.

It's set at more than 31% of an employee's salary - and it's a huge contributor to the Swedish exchequer. It accounts for about a quarter of the country's tax revenue.

That helps to cover the cost of many of the generous social security policies that Sweden has in place.
So what kind of supports are there to help families here with childcare costs?
There's a Universal Childcare Subsidy for children over six months, but who are too young to start the Early Childhood Care and Education scheme (which kicks in for children that are at least 2 years and 8 months old)

The universal subsidy is worth 50c an hour, up to a maximum of 45 hours. So that means, at most, it's covering €22.50 of the weekly childcare bill.

There's also an income-assessed subsidy for children up to 15 - this one is a bit more complex because it differs depending on a household's income, the child's age, and also the number of hours it covers depends on whether the parents are working full time or not.

But it can offer a subsidy of between 33c and €5.10 an hour, up to 45 hours a week. So at the top end that could be €229 a week.

And then there's the ECCE scheme I mentioned - which covers the cost of three hours of pre-school a day, during the school calendar.

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How childcare costs stack up across Ireland, and Europe

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Childcare costs are often cited as a major drag on many households' budgets, with many referring to it as a second mortgage. But how much is the average family spending on childcare? Are some counties more affordable than others, and how does Ireland stack up against its European neighbours?

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By Gerard Turley and Stephen McNena, NUI Galway
Many countries and cities around the world are experiencing a housing crisis. Ireland is no different, with the problem most acute in Dublin. Nationwide, the demand for accommodation exceeds supply. Although new residential property construction has recovered since the 2008/09 Great Recession, the current rate of about 20,000 units per annum is well below the required annual 33,000 newly constructed homes as stated in the Government's Housing for All plan.

Property prices and rents have increased strongly, and continue to rise with no slowdown imminent. Property prices are up 60% over the seven years since 2015, and up nearly 120% since their trough in early 2013. Nationwide average rents in new tenancies were about €800 per month during 2009-2014, but have increased by over 75% to reach over €1,400 at the end of 2021. In Dublin, average rents in new tenancies are close to €2,000 per month.
From RTÉ One's Nine News, President Michael D Higgins criticises Irish housing as 'our great failure'
One possible solution is a renewed focus on vacant or derelict properties, and especially in our urban centres. Given the massive shortage of housing, and the high level of property prices and rents, it is somewhat surprising to see so many empty or derelict premises in our towns and cities. What role might a tax on vacant properties play in helping to discourage a wasteful use of a scarce resource?

Census 2016 provided some limited data on the scale of the problem. It recorded over 245,000 vacant dwellings, or 12.3% of the housing stock. Of that number, about 62,000 were identified as holiday homes, leaving over 183,000 vacant dwellings.

The census enumerators attempted to establish the reasons for vacancy, and this data is available for over 57,000 properties. The most common reasons were for sale, vacant long-term, rental property or owner deceased. Census 2022 promises to produce improved data on vacant properties, and will be used in conjunction with 2021 Local Property Tax data. More recently, architect Mel Reynolds estimated that there could be up to 137,000 vacant dwellings in the country.
From RTÉ Radio 1's News At One, Green Party TD and Oireachtas committee on housing chair, Steven Matthews, on a new report by the committee on derelict and vacant homes
Although difficult to define and measure accurately (with the need for more reliable and up-to-date data, as always), tackling vacant properties is only part of a multi-dimensional approach that can help urban development and address the affordability crisis. The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage recently launched its report on urban regeneration, with 39 recommendations. One of the recommendations is for the Government to consider a Vacant Homes Tax. In response, the Minister for Housing, Darragh O'Brien, stated his intention to introduce the tax in Budget 2023, and related measures like grants to renovate derelict properties.

As one of us is currently based at the University of Toronto, we decided to investigate the Canadian experience with vacant property taxes. Affordable housing is also a big issue here because of rapidly rising property prices and rents.

Vancouver was the first city in North America to introduce a vacant homes tax, and its Empty Homes Tax in 2017 aimed to return vacant properties to the rental market. Owners must make an annual declaration, and a property not being used as a principal residence or not rented for more than six months of the year is subject to the tax, unless an exemption applies (such as property transfer, death of owner, redevelopment or owner in care).
From City Of Vancouver, how the Empty Homes Tax works
The tax rate was 1% of the assessed taxable value, then increased to 1.25% in 2020 and is 3% since 2021. Net revenues are reinvested into affordable housing initiatives across the city. City officials claim that the tax is working, with vacancy dropping by 26% and properties occupied by tenants growing nearly 20% over the three years. In April 2022, the city council voted unanimously to increase the tax rate to 5% from 2023.

The province of British Columbia applies a Speculation and Vacancy Tax in major urban areas (including the City of Vancouver) at a rate that varies depending on the use of the property, the owner's residency status and where they earn and report their income. From 2019, the rates are 2% for foreign owners, and 0.5% for Canadian citizens or permanent residents. Exemptions apply, including major renovations and life events but the main one is the owner's principle residence. Again, provincial officials claim the policy goal of adding more units for sale and rent is being achieved.

In the City of Toronto, the design of the Vacant Home Tax was completed in 2021, introduced in 2022, and first payable in 2023. Its aim is "to change the behaviours of homeowners who leave their homes unoccupied - compelling them to sell or rent them out to increase the housing supply". Again, a property is considered vacant if it has been unoccupied for more than six months during the previous calendar year, and the unit is not the principal residence of the owner. Similar exemptions apply as elsewhere. Property owners are required to declare the status of their property each year, and if vacant, the rate is 1% of their property's Current Assessed Value.
From RTÉ Radio 1's This Week, Carole Coleman finds out if vacant or derelict premises in the north-west and border regions can be used to solve the housing shortage
Other cities in the province of Ontario, including Ottawa and Hamilton, are following suit and will soon implement similar vacant home taxes. In addition, in 2022 the Canadian federal government legislated for an annual 1% federal tax on underused or vacant properties (the Underused Housing Tax) owned by non-resident, non-Canadians, and as with all the others is a housing supply measure rather than a revenue generator.

Although they seem to have political and public support, experts remain divided on the impact of these taxes. It is difficult to disentangle their effects from all the other factors affecting property markets. Earlier evidence from elsewhere, including lower numbers of vacant properties than originally estimated and their concentration at the higher end of the market, raises some doubts about the effectiveness of such taxes as a tool to tackle the affordability crisis for younger, low and middle-income earners.

Clearly, we need to gather more evidence so that our policymakers are well informed and make the right interventions about one of the defining issues of our time. Given the current state of the Irish property market and housing supply, a vacant property tax seems like a good idea in principle but, as with all good taxes, the devil is in the detail.
Dr Gerard Turley and Stephen McNena are lecturers at the J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics at NUI Galway. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ Dr Turley is currently a Visiting Scholar at the Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance at the University of Toronto.

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Is it time to tax the thousands of vacant houses in Ireland?

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Canada's experience may give some pointers as how to deal with the huge stock of unoccupied dwellings here

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The new vacant homes tax (VHT) will be self-assessed and is expected to raise as little as €3 million a year.

It will be charged at a rate that is three times the property's local property tax (LPT) rate.

Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said he is introducing the tax to increase the supply of homes for rent or purchase to meet demand.

Budget documents say the "primary objective" of the tax is to "change behaviour rather than raise revenue".

[ New tax on vacant homes: all you need to know if you have one ]

The tax, to be introduced in 2023, will apply to residential properties that are occupied for less than 30 days in a 12-month period. The new tax will be administered by the Revenue Commissioners.

There are to be a number of exemptions to ensure owners are not unfairly charged where a property may be vacant for a genuine reason.

These include properties recently sold or currently listed for sale or rent; properties vacant due to the occupier's illness or long-term care; and properties vacant as a result of significant refurbishment work.

Budget documents say the measure "seeks to achieve an appropriate balance between incentivising owners of vacant homes to bring their properties back into use and not penalising homeowners for normal, temporary vacancy".

Owners of vacant homes will be required to file an annual return declaring that their residential properties were vacant in the applicable 12-month period, indicating the LPT valuation that applies to the home.

This will be used to assess their VHT liability.

The tax will not apply to derelict properties or properties unsuitable for use as a dwelling that are not captured under the existing LPT system.

The yield is of the VHT is estimated at between €3 million and €4 million per year.

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Vacant homes tax will raise as little as €3 million a year

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Budget 2023: Self-assessed tax will be charged at rate that is three times the property's Local Property Tax rate

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How is a vacant dwelling defined in the census?

A dwelling is classed as vacant by census enumerators if it is unoccupied on Census Night, is not used as a holiday home and is not usually inhabited by occupants who are temporarily absent at the time of census.

The Census definition of a vacant dwelling is a point in time indicator taken on Census Night as to whether the property was inhabited or not on Sunday 03 April 2022.

Census vacancy should not be used as a measure of long term vacancy or compared directly with vacancy figures produced by other sources which may use different definitions or methodology.

The Census vacancy definition has been used over several censuses which enables comparisons over time.

Can you explain how the enumerator classifies the dwelling as vacant?

A dwelling could be classed as vacant if it is unoccupied because it is up for sale, under renovation or because it is an uninhabited rental property. A dwelling being classified as vacant for census purposes does not necessarily imply that it is available for reuse. Census vacancy is essentially a point in time measure which may be different to other reported measures of vacancy which may focus more on longer term vacancy.

Holiday homes are not part of the vacant dwellings count.

Dwellings under construction and derelict properties are also not included in the count of vacant dwellings. Dwellings which are classified as under construction for the census are not yet habitable as they are missing one or more of items such as their roof, windows, or doors. Derelict dwellings are not habitable because they are run down, boarded up, or generally in a poor state of repair.

More on the criteria and rules applied by enumerators in determining vacancy can be found below.

The CSO reported 163,433 vacant houses and apartments in Census 2022. How did the CSO get this figure?

The Census field operation involved enumerators visiting more than two million homes across Ireland in the weeks around Census Night, 03 April 2022. These visits involved making contact with members of the public to deliver and collect census forms. In some cases, despite repeated visits by the enumerator, the door remained unanswered. In these situations, the enumerator made an assessment based on CSO vacancy rules and training. This resulted in some of the dwellings being marked as vacant.

The number of vacant dwellings recorded in Census 2022 fell by 11% compared with Census 2016. In the same period, the housing stock in Ireland grew by 5%. The vacancy rate therefore fell from 9% to 8%.

The vacancy figures above do not include holiday homes. These are dwellings that were unoccupied on Census Night and are used as seasonal holiday homes by their owners. The number of unoccupied holiday homes increased from 62,148 to 66,956 between 2016 and 2022, a rise of 8%.

Are there figures for long term vacant dwellings?

Just under 48,000 dwellings which were vacant in 2016 were still vacant in 2022. Furthermore, 23,072 dwellings were vacant in 2011, 2016 and 2022. These figures may be an indication of dwellings which were vacant for a longer period of time.

Other figures quoted on vacant dwellings are different to the Census figure. Why is this?

The census vacancy figure is an accurate point in time measure, on Census Night in 2022. This figure was arrived at using detailed procedures and definitions which have been applied consistently over several censuses. It includes dwellings that were vacant for a short period of time. They may have been for sale, for rent, undergoing renovation, or the owner may have been in hospital, or a nursing home. These dwellings may well have been occupied again a few weeks after Census Night and may not be included in other counts of vacancy which tend to focus on longer term vacancy.

Other vacancy measures use different procedures and definitions and so would have arrived at a different number of vacant dwellings.

The number of dwellings attributed as being available to rent seems very high compared with what is available on websites. Why?

Properties which were declared vacant by enumerators on Census Night and described as rental properties include dwellings which were advertised on websites as being for rent, short term lettings including Airbnb properties, and dwellings which were between lettings but may not have been commercially advertised. There were 33,653 vacant dwellings which were rental properties. This was more than 20% of the total stock of vacant dwellings.

What is the definition of holiday homes?

Holiday homes are dwellings which are unoccupied at the time of the census and are only occupied periodically during the year, typically during the summer. Enumerators class unoccupied dwellings as holiday homes based on information sourced locally. Holiday homes tend to be more highly concentrated in coastal and rural areas.

What were the rules that made enumerators determine the dwellings were vacant?

Census enumerators adhered to detailed procedures that have been developed by the CSO in consultation with key experts across several censuses. As part of these procedures, enumerators varied the times of the day, and days of the week, they called to dwellings in order to make contact with householders. For example, when an enumerator called to a home during the day and failed to make contact, they dropped off their contact telephone number on a calling card. The subsequent visits were at different times such as evenings and weekends.

Enumerators also looked for signs of vacancy such as post and junk mail building up, no lights on at night, no cars in driveways, overgrown gardens, or no windows open. If they observed any signs of occupancy, they could not record the home as vacant. Where they could not make contact with a particular household, the enumerator checked with neighbours to enquire about the dwellings. If neighbours told them there were people living in these dwellings, the enumerator could not record them as vacant.

For Census 2022, the CSO introduced a new smartphone application that enabled enumerators to record information about every home in their area. This gave field managers and Census HQ much greater information than in previous censuses about how many dwellings were being categorised as vacant and allowed identification and investigation of any unusual patterns of housing vacancy in real time.

Would it not be easier for an enumerator to record a home as vacant rather than calling back to try to make contact?

All of the work undertaken as part of the census by enumerators is closely scrutinised by their field managers and Census HQ and is subject to detailed quality assurance procedures. This is designed to ensure that enumerators record the correct details about every home in their area, including whether they are vacant or occupied.

The enumerators are paid based on how successful they were in collecting completed census forms from members of the public. Enumerators have an average of 430 dwellings in their area. In 2022, they were paid €4.10 for every completed census form they collected. They were only paid €1.20 for each vacant home in their area, so enumerators were strongly incentivised to persist in attempting to make contact with householders.

Do you know why the dwellings were vacant?

The CSO has produced new additional figures giving an insight into why some of the 163,433 dwellings were vacant on Census Night. While we don't have a complete picture, we did note that many of the dwellings recorded as vacant were for sale, were rental properties, had a deceased owner, or were being renovated. Many of these may well have been occupied again a few weeks after the Census was completed.

Has the CSO provided the census list of vacant dwellings to any other government department?

No. The CSO is forbidden by law to give information about individual people or dwellings to any other organisation, government or any third party. We use the information we collect for statistical purposes only.

Why did the Census count so many more vacant dwellings than the Revenue Commissioners?

The Census 2022 count of vacancy is a point in time measure of vacancy recorded by over 5,000 enumerators working across the country between March and May of 2022 while they were delivering and collecting census forms. The census approach to counting and defining vacancy has been consistently tested and used since 2011 allowing comparability over time. Census vacancy should not be used to measure long term vacancy or the number of properties potentially available for reuse. An enumerator could only classify a dwelling as vacant if there was no contact at the property following multiple visits and after enquiries were made with neighbours. Field Supervisors were also required to approve the classification of each dwelling as vacant. To provide more insight into why dwellings may have been vacant at the time of the census, enumerators were provided with a new smartphone application that allowed them to record a reason as to why the dwelling was vacant.

The vacant dwellings figure reported by the Revenue Commissioners is based on a new approach where vacancy was self-declared by people completing their Local Property Tax return in 2021. This represents a completely different way of defining and measuring vacancy compared with the census and consequently has delivered different results. It should also be noted that there are other measures of housing vacancy based on alternative definitions and approaches that also produce a different count, including the figures regularly published by the Geodirectory in the Geoview report.

Where can I find more information on the census vacancy count?

We would be happy to offer guidance on how to interpret this information. Please contact us at census@cso.ie or (+353) 1 895 1460.

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How is a vacant dwelling defined in the census? A dwelling is classed as vacant by census enumerators if it is unoccupied on Census Night, is not used as a holiday home and is not usually inhabited by occupants who are temporarily absent at the time of census.

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The cost of your average shop is going up, with a new estimate from Eurostat suggesting consumer prices rose here by 8.2% in the year to the end of May.

That translates into significantly bigger shopping bills - according to Kantar it means the average household will be paying €330 more each year.

But not all price rises are equal, and a myriad of factors affect different products in different ways.

To help make sense of what's going on, we've taken a closer look at a selection of everyday grocery items.

Each one has seen significant price increases, but each one has a different story to tell as to the reasons why.

In this piece, we'll look at coffee prices.
What's pushing up coffee costs?
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Adam Maguire talks about the cost of coffee on RTÉ Radio 1's Today with Claire Byrne

Brexit has caused significant disruption to Ireland's supply chain - but it's not been the only issue. The pandemic is the other big one.

That's because, in the early stages of the pandemic, all but the most important factories around the world closed their doors and the world's ports essentially shut down too.

That resulted in massive cargo ships queuing up at ports with nowhere to go - and empty shipping containers building up because there was no way to stock them and put them onto ships.

And it's not the case that everything starts flowing smoothly again once ports reopen - these backlogs take time to unwind.

The fact that we also had the blockage of the Suez Canal and rolling shut downs in ports in China has just made the situation worse.
So what impact does that have?
Pre-pandemic, the global supply chain meant it was easy, and often cheap, for companies to source goods from the other side of the world.

According to the International Monetary Fund, about 80% of the world's traded goods are transported by sea. And it ran pretty much like clockwork, too; companies knew they could order goods now and they'd arrive within a predictable number of days.

As a result a lot of businesses operated on what's called a 'just in time' model. The idea of this is that they order parts and products as they're needed, instead of building up a bit stockpile that has to be worked through.

The benefit is that firms don't tie up lots of cash in goods that just sit there in storage - but the downside is that when there's a major blockage on the other side of the world - as came with Covid - they don't have their own stockpile to fall back.

And when the pandemic hit, that led to bidding wars for space on the few containers that were making their way out of ports. The longer the shipping distance was, the more firms were having to pay.

But shipments have also become much slower, and less predictable - because ports seem to be giving priority to premium goods, and those seen to be less valuable end up having to wait longer for space on a ship.

The disruption was such that you also have this strange phenomenon of empty shipping containers piling up in some parts of the world, waiting to be filled, while at the same time you have goods in other parts of the world waiting for a container so they can be put on a ship.

It has even led to some firms paying top dollar to ship empty boxes from one part of the world to another, just to try to get their supply chain back on track.
What has that got to do with coffee?
Obviously there's no local sourcing possible when it comes to coffee - you have to go to very far away places like Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia or India to get it.

So you've no choice but to pay the shipping costs, whatever they are.

And they've really ratcheted up since the pandemic.

According to the IMF, there's been a seven fold increase in the cost of shipping a container across the oceans in the 18 months since March 2020.

But other factors beyond shipping are hitting coffee prices, too.

Higher energy prices mean it costs more to roast beans and transport the finished product to shops, for example.

And the price of coffee itself is going up too.

The US Coffee C Futures is a commodity market that tracks the price of specialty coffee, and it's used as a benchmark when pricing orders.

It's up about 50% in the past year - and it's more than doubled in the past two years - in part because of weather warnings coming out of Brazil that traders had feared would impact the harvest.

And this is hurting the big guys just as much as the smaller players.

Starbucks upped its prices in October, and again in January - and said more hikes are coming - all because supply chain costs, as well as labour costs, were hitting its bottom line.

According to the CSO, coffee prices jumped by almost 3% between March and April - so in just one month - and are about 4% higher in the year, so tracking just above the rise in grocery prices overall.

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Price shock: why the cost of coffee is boiling over

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A cup of coffee - or tea - is one of life's simple pleasures, but pandemic-induced disruption to the global supply chain is one of the reasons why it's getting more expensive.

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Key Economic Indicators Dashboard | CSO Ireland

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This is a set of key economic indicators produced by the CSO. It is divided into three themes - Macroeconomic, Business and People. This is a live dashboard which regularly updates with the most recent information available for each indicator.

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The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 8.7% in the year to August 2022 down from an annual increase of 9.1% in the year to July 2022

This is the eleventh straight month where the annual increase for the CPI has been at least 5.0%

The divisions with the largest increases in the year to August were Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (+20.3%) and Transport (+14.8%)

Education (-0.7%) and Miscellaneous Goods & Services (-0.5%) were the only divisions to show a decrease when compared with August 2021

Consumer prices rose by 0.2% in the month between July 2022 and August 2022

The divisions with the largest increases in the month were Health (+1.3%), Clothing & Footwear (+1.1%) and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (+1.0%) while the only decrease in the month was seen in Transport (-2.0%)

This is an audio file with a 34-second quote from CSO statistician with the Prices Division, Anthony Dawson, about the August 2022 Consumer Price Index release.
Media outlets have permission to use the clip as long as they credit the CSO.

Your browser does not support the audio element.

Figure 1 shows the development of the CPI and HICP over recent months. It also shows the recent divergence of the CPI and HICP. This divergence is due to some items having different weights in the respective indices.

Prices on average, as measured by the CPI, were 8.7% higher in August 2022 compared with August 2021.

The most notable changes in the year were increases in Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (+20.3%), (+14.8%), Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+8.8%) and Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (+8.0%). There were decreases in (-0.7%) and Miscellaneous Goods & Services (-0.5%).

Consumer Prices in August, as measured by the CPI, increased by 0.2% in the month. During August of last year, prices rose by 0.6% in the month. The most significant monthly price changes were increases in (+1.3%) and Clothing & Footwear (+1.1%). There was a decrease in (-2.0%).

Table 3 shows the contribution of each 2-digit COICOP ¹ division to the overall change in the CPI. A detailed breakdown of the individual components of each of the 12 COICOP divisions is presented in Table 5.

The divisions which caused the largest upward contribution to the CPI in the year were Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (+3.27%), Transport (+2.02%), Restaurants & Hotels (+1.15%) and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+1.03%).

The division which caused the largest downward contribution to the CPI in the year was Miscellaneous Goods & Services (-0.06%).

The main factors contributing to the annual change were as follows:

Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels rose mainly due to higher rents and mortgage interest repayments and an increase in the cost of electricity, home heating oil, gas, and solid fuels.

Transport increased primarily due to a rise in prices for diesel, petrol, motor cars, air fares and services in respect of personal transport equipment. This increase was partially offset by lower prices for passenger transport by Bus & Coach and by Railway.

Restaurants & Hotels rose mainly due to higher prices for alcoholic drinks and food consumed in licensed premises, restaurants, cafes etc. and an increase in the cost of hotel accommodation.

Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages increased due to higher prices across a range of products such as Meat, Bread & Cereals and Milk, Cheese & Eggs.

Miscellaneous Goods & Services decreased primarily due to a reduction in prices for motor insurance premiums, health insurance premiums and Jewellery, Clocks & Watches. This decrease was partially offset by an increase in prices for articles & products for personal care and hairdressing salons & personal grooming establishments.

The divisions which caused the largest upward contribution to the CPI in the month were Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (+0.18%) and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+0.07%). The only division which caused a downward contribution in the month was Transport (-0.29%).

The main factors contributing to the monthly change were as follows:

Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels rose mainly due to an increase in the cost of electricity, gas, rents, and mortgage interest repayments. This increase was partially offset by lower prices for home heating oil.

Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages increased due to higher prices across a range of products such as Meat, Bread & Cereals and Milk, Cheese & Eggs.

Transport fell mainly due to lower prices for petrol, diesel, and services in respect of personal transport equipment. This decrease was partially offset by an increase in the cost airfares and motor cars.

Table 4 details selected consumer price index sub-indices. The sub index for Services rose by 7.6% in the year to August, while Goods increased by 10.0%. Services, excluding mortgage interest repayments, increased by 7.6% in the year since August 2021.

The CPI excluding tobacco increased by 0.2% in the month of August and rose by 8.6% in the year. The CPI excluding mortgage interest also increased by 0.2% in the month and by 8.7% in the year.

Table 5 details all COICOP ¹ sub-indices of the CPI. This table represents data formerly provided in Tables 4 to 15 of the release.
¹Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose Adapted to the Needs of Harmonised Indices of Consumer Prices (2000).
Prices on average, as measured by the EU Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), increased by 9.0% compared with August 2021.

Table 7 details the COICOP sub-indices for the HICP. The most notable changes in the year were increases in Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (+24.4%), Transport (+15.2%), Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+8.7%) and Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (+8.0%). There was a decrease in Education (-0.8%).

The HICP increased by 0.2% in the month. This compares to an increase of 0.7% recorded in August of last year.

The most significant monthly price changes were increases in Clothing & Footwear (+1.1%) and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (+1.0%). There were decreases in Transport (-1.9%) and Miscellaneous Goods & Services (-0.1%).

National Average Prices for selected goods and services for July 2022 are detailed in table 8.

It should be noted that due to the methodology used to calculated National Average Prices, the data lags one month behind the CPI data. Therefore, the latest available data for National Average Prices is for July 2022.

Looking at the National Average Prices of some staple items:

The national average price for bread (large (800g) white sliced pan) was up 23 cents in the year to July 2022, while the same size brown sliced pan was up 28 cents in the year.

Spaghetti per 500g increased by 26 cents in the year while the average price for 2.5kg of potatoes decreased by 14 cents.

Full fat milk per 2 litres increased by 36 cents in the year while the average price of Irish cheddar per kg rose by €1.17 and butter per lb rose by 58 cents.

The national average price of a take-home 50cl can of lager at €2.15 was up 26 cents on average from July 2021 while a take-home 50cl can of cider at €2.45 was up 25 cents.

In July 2022, the national average price of a pint of stout in licensed premises was €5.14, up 18 cents a pint in the year, while a pint of lager was €5.56, up 26 cents compared with July 2021.

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Consumer Price Index August 2022 - CSO - Central Statistics Office

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The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 8.7% in the year to August 2022 down from an annual increase of 9.1% in the year to July 2022

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The outlook for 2024 may be even worse if the supply of apartments, which have a longer lead-in and build time than traditional homes, goes into decline.

Davy's chief economist Conall Mac Coille is forecasting a relatively small decline in new home completions from this year's expected 28,000 to 27,000.

That is well below the Government's targets, far below most experts' estimates of housing needs - and less than Davy had previously expected.

"Cost inflation is the obvious factor which is feeding into a slowdown this year in site commencements and therefore house completions in 2023," Mr Mac Coille said.

Builders have been complaining for months that the commercial viability of new-build homes is being squeezed by a combination of supply-chain disruption and rising costs of materials, including timber and steel and more recently, the levy on cement introduced in Budget 2023, together with what is effectively an upper limit on house prices as a result of the Central Bank's mortgage rules.

In recent years the financial gap between build costs and the mortgage cap has been plugged in the apartments market by so-called build-to-rent investors.

These have bulk-bought and forward-purchased apartment schemes after moving into Ireland on the back of record low interest rates and tax and planning changes.

While critics argue that so-called cuckoo funds have displaced traditional homebuyers, the Government and industry say big developments backed by the funds would not have been viable if they had relied on the traditional domestic market.

Mr Mac Coille says growing economic uncertainty means there is now also a risk to the number of projected apartment completions in 2024, with implications for overall housing delivery.

A worsening housing outlook - including prices that will remain elevated as a result of undersupply - is the major black spot in Davy's latest economic forecast, although Mr Mac Coille also sees further pressure on households as growing bills outpace wage growth.

Consumer spending is forecast to grow by just 1.8pc next year - down from 4.9pc previously - reflecting the hit to real incomes from energy prices and inflation.

Consumer prices inflation is tipped to peak at 10pc this month, before falling back to an average of 5.6pc next year.

Jobs growth is also expected to slow.

The outlook for the public finances is much better. Davy is forecasting a budget surplus next year of €9bn as corporate taxes pour in and unemployment is expected to remain below 5pc.

Even with Europe tipped to fall into recession, the economy here will continue to grow, boosted by multinationals in sectors such as pharmaceuticals.

"Ireland's public finances are in rude health due to surging corporate tax revenues," according to Davy

It means the Government will have massive scope next year again to provide one-off supports for Irish households and firms if the pressure on energy bills persists.

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House building to decline next year as developers put the brakes on new schemes in the face of spiralling costs

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The number of new homes completed next year will fall because higher costs are already prompting developers to delay schemes, according to new forecasts from Davy Stockbrokers.

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News | Latest Breaking News Stories & Headlines | RTÉ

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Get all of the latest breaking local and international news stories as they happen, with up to the minute updates and analysis, from Ireland's National Broadcaster

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While the initial back-to-school expenses of uniforms and new shoes may be out of the way for another year, the cost of after-school activities is building for many households.

From music classes to swimming lessons, some parents are forking out hundreds of euro per child every term.

But as the cost of heating, electricity and other essentials continues to spiral, many parents are being forced to make some tough decisions.

Amy Dutton from Co Wicklow has a daughter in primary school and a son in secondary school.

She said prices have increased across all their extracurricular activities compared to last year.

Martial arts classes for her 12-year-old son have increased from €18 a month to €21 for a one-hour class every week, while pay-as-you-go classes for her eight-year-old daughter are up from €5 to €8.

While she said the GAA membership for her daughter is quite reasonable at €40 per year, the fee has doubled compared to last year.

This means the family will be spending over €600 this year on after-school activities, up over €150 on last year - for the same activities.

Ms Dutton had wanted to enroll the children in more activities this year but said that is now not an option due to rising costs.

"As a parent of two active children it's very upsetting not to be able to allow them to attend activities more frequently," she said.

"They have the option of doing two martial arts classes a week, but with both currently attending one class per week it's already a stretch.

"GAA is finished for the winter now and we'd love them to both have two evenings that they're active, but it's just not an option for us," she said.

Ms Dutton said they've noticed all their expenses rising over the past year and they're feeling the pressure.

"All bills are increasing from gas and electricity, the food shop - to even our annual bin charges which have gone from €50 annually to €85," she said.

Phil Kelly from Co Dublin has three children aged nine, two and one.

Music lessons for his two-year-old have increased from €150 per term last year to €255 this year.

This means the family is now spending over €700 per year on lessons, compared to €450 last year.

He said part of that is down to the fact that his two-year-old has moved from the baby group to the toddler class - but nonetheless, that is a big price increase.

"I would love to have the two younger children both in music classes but unfortunately we can't afford it," Mr Kelly said.

He said the cost of GAA activities for his nine-year-old has also increased, while the price of softball activities has remained the same as last year.

In total, the family is spending over €1,300 per year on extracurricular activities for two children.

"The eldest would also like to do horse riding but we can't afford that.

"It's hard to say no to a child due to purely financial reasons outside our control," he added

According to a recent survey carried out by the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU), many parents are cutting back on such spending this year, due to the cost-of-living crisis.

67% of parents surveyed said they will be forced to deny their children extracurricular activities because they can't afford them. That is up from 46% last year, a jump of 21%.

Meanwhile, 34% said they can't afford to buy new gym gear for their child, while 24% can't afford new shoes.

When asked what other options they would consider to help manage household costs, 31% of parents said they would look at trying to earn additional income.

23% said they would consider taking out a personal loan, while 14% said they would think about asking family or friends for a loan.

9% of parents are also considering looking for debt or budgeting advice.

Paul Bailey, Head of Communications with the ILCU, said their research suggests that more parents are taking out loans in order to fund back-to-school costs, and after-school activities.

"More than one in four of parents are getting into debt to cover the costs of back to school with 21% having debts over €500," he said.

"The average debt parents find themselves in is €339," he added.

The Money Advice and Budgeting Service, known as MABS, provides free support for those looking for advice on money, budgeting and debt.

Karl Cronin, Regional Manager at MABS for North Connacht and Ulster, said they have seen a notable increase in the number of callers to their helpline and their offices over the last two months.

The MABS Helpline is open from Monday to Friday from 9am to 8pm on 0818 07 2000.

Mr Cronin said the helpline is staffed with a team of fully trained advisers who will carry out an assessment with the caller and work out the best course of action.

"This may lead to a referral to a MABS office in the callers' local area for a face-to-face appointment for a more in-depth review of the financial situation," he said.

"The MABS service is completely free, confidential, independent and non-judgemental," he added.
Top tips from MABS
If you're struggling to manage your finances, Mr Cronin said the first step is to draft an accurate and realistic budget.

"A well-planned budget will help you to organise the money coming in and going out and to plan for bills, unexpected expenses and to save for special events," he said.

"It also ensures you are in control of your finances and not over-spending," he added.

Given the increase in day-to-day expenses, Mr Cronin said it is now more important than ever to keep a close eye on your budget and review it regularly.

"And remember, a well-balanced budget should include some treats and things to look forward to - a budget is a tool, not a punishment," he added.

When it comes to cutting back on spending, Mr Cronin said he would suggest parents make a list of their total expenditure - both essential and discretionary.

"The priority expenses for any household are accommodation costs, such as the monthly mortgage repayment or rent, food, heat, electricity and medical expenses. Following that, transport and education are important," he said.

Once you have a clear and accurate picture of all your outgoings, Mr Cronin said you can look at your discretionary expenditure, and decide if there is scope to reduce this.

He acknowledged that cutting back on things such as extracurricular activities can be very difficult for parents.

"Parents can feel immense pressure to have their children involved in everything, from sports to music lessons, dance classes to horse-riding and everything in between," he said.

"Not alone does this cause financial pressure, but it creates an extra stress for parents who find themselves running from A to B several evenings a week while trying to fit in dinnertimes and homework. There is a transport cost to factor in here too," he added.

Mr Cronin said he would advise parents to have a conversation with their children.

"Ask them which activity they enjoy the most and cut back accordingly," he suggested.

The National Parents Council Post Primary (NPCPP) works on behalf of parents and young people in post-primary education.

Its Communications Director, Paul Rolston, has called on schools, educational facilities, clubs and community organisations to be supportive of parents who may be struggling financially.

"None should discriminate against any child, adolescent or family on the basis that they are unable to pay," he said.

"In particular NPCPP calls for all schools and community organisations not to withdraw facilities or activities from children and students - and no young person should be identifiable to their peers or others because parents cannot afford a service or activity."

"This is a time for communities to stand together and support our most vulnerable - a time for leaders in society to demonstrate respect and understanding," he added.

Mr Rolston also said he would encourage parents to explore the free activities available in their area.

"We'd like to remind everyone that there are many activities available around our beautiful countryside which offer opportunities for activities, exercise and social interaction free or for minimal charge," he added.

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Parents cut back after-school activities as costs soar

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While the initial back-to-school expenses of uniforms and new shoes may be out of the way for another year, the cost of after-school activities is building for many households.

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Coining it: What currency shifts mean for Ireland

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The euro has been drifting against the dollar for some time now, but has been getting stronger against sterling for months. But what this means for consumers - and particularly businesses - can be hard to pin down. When it comes to currencies, there's always two sides to the coin.

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The competition watchdog has said it is concerned by the impending increase in the concentration levels of the retail banking sector in Ireland as a result of the exits of KBC Bank Ireland and Ulster Bank.

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) said that while non-bank lenders have brought some new products to the market, there has been no entry by a full-service banking provider and no indication such an entry is likely in the near future.

"This situation risks leaving certain consumer and business segments with little choice for a range of products," the commission warned in its submission to the Government's ongoing retail banking review.

The CCPC said it also noted the withdrawal of Ulster Bank and KBC will leave only three full-service banks in the market for consumers, and two for businesses, which compares poorly against other EU member states and leaves Ireland in a unique place when it comes to consumer choice.

"We've seen in other jurisdictions where there are only two or three players it has an impact on price and innovation in these markets," said Brian McHugh, member of the commission.

"So that is concerning, and we would like to see steps taken to address those concerns."

The commission has put forward a series of recommendations which it thinks would, if implemented, assist in boosting competition in the banking market.

Chief among them is a suggestion that the Central Bank of Ireland's mandate be extended to include competition objectives.

It also recommends that as part of the bank's upcoming review of the Consumer Protection Code, an evaluation of the operation of the Bank Switching Code for the movement of accounts between institutions should be conducted.

It says it is concerned that vulnerable customers, who may find the switching code process to be of particular use, are not being facilitated with the extra help that they require and are being channeled into the self-service option that may not be appropriate for their needs.

The CCPC says credit unions, An Post and fintechs are also not bound to follow the switching code, which is limited to retail banks.

"There is some frustrations out there on that process so we do think lessons can be learned and that can be improved in terms of the consumer experience," Mr McHugh said.

"So we'd like to see it to be faster and it to be more efficient in terms of costs for consumers. And we think that will have a big impact on the consumer experience but also on the potential for banks entering the market."

Ulster Bank is in the process of pulling out of the market here

The loyalty penalties that arise when borrowers end a fixed rate term and roll onto a higher variable rate also need to be examined as part of the code review, the commission states.

It says the application of default interest rates in this manner can lead to unfair outcomes for consumers, particularly those unable to engage with their bank on expiry of a fixed rate period for reasons such as a lack of knowledge or understanding of the benefits of such engagement or low financial literacy.

"The CCPC recommends that a revised Consumer Protection Code should mandate mortgage providers to offer the same rate or equivalent best rate to a consumer at the end of an initial fixed term," it says.

"The Central Bank should also consider the differentials between offers made to new and existing customers and their appropriateness or otherwise."

The submission also claims that the Central Bank should introduce a guidance note for fintechs seeking authorisation to operate here, in order to assist new firms seeking to enter the Irish market.

"The CCPC is aware of commentary that the pace at which authorisations are processed by the Central Bank is regarded as a barrier to entry to the Irish financial services markets, although this appears to relate to markets other than the retail banking market," it says.

It also adds that it has become aware of suggestions that the Central Bank's regulatory requirements are "excessively intrusive" and this may be adding to the cost of financial services and potentially acting as a barrier to entry.

The CCPC also suggests that the use of suspended possession orders by the Courts be reviewed, as they could be a possible means of improving the enforcement of the security of mortgage debt, which has been cited by those in financial services as a potential barrier to entry.

"Potential entrants may be discouraged from entering the Irish market by the risk that, if they were to enter, their profitability will be negatively impacted by a difficulty in accessing processes which enable the timely and effective resolution of non-performing loans," the document claims.

The commission is also urging the Government to engage with the proposal for a European Digital Identity Wallet which if implemented could help consumers to access financial services across EU borders more easily under banking union.

Financial literacy among micro, small and medium sized enterprises also needs to be improved, the commission proposes, while these smaller businesses also require new innovative options around relationship management because of the reducing number of business bank options.

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Concentration in banking market a concern - CCPC

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The competition watchdog has said it is concerned by the impending increase in the concentration levels of the retail banking sector in Ireland as a result of the exits of KBC Bank Ireland and Ulster Bank.

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Domestic producer prices for manufactured goods were on average 10.4% higher in September 2022 compared with a year earlier, while producer prices for exported goods increased by 5.9%.

Producer prices for food products rose by 8.9% in the 12 months to September 2022, while the Food Products, Beverages & Tobacco index also saw an increase of 8.9%.

Some of the most notable changes in producer prices for food products over the 12 months to September 2022 were: Dairy Products (+53.2%), Fish & Fish Products (+21.1%), Grain Milling, Starches, & Animal Feeds (+14.5%), and Meat & Meat Products (+8.3%).

The most notable changes in other producer prices in the year were: Wood & Wood Products (+32.4%), Other Non-Metallic Mineral Products (such as glass, ceramics, cement, concrete and stone) (+21.5%), Basic Metals (+18.2%) and Mining & Quarrying (+15.2%).

Wholesale prices for construction products dropped by 0.6% in the month but rose by 16.6% in the 12 months since September 2021.

Wholesale electricity prices were 44.9% higher than in September 2021 but were down by 26.9% since August 2022.

Notable annual increases in construction products as shown in Table 3 include:

Structural Steel & Reinforcing Metal, Structural Steel, Fabricated Metal 64.4%

All Other Materials, Pipes & Fittings, PVC 29.2%

Bituminous Macadam, Asphalt and Bituminous Emulsions, Bituminous Emulsions 27.6%

All Other Materials, Pipes & Fittings, Copper 26.1%

Other Concrete Products, Precast Concrete 25.1%

Ready Mixed Mortar and Concrete 24.8%

The Building and Construction index (i.e. Materials and Wages) decreased by 0.4% in the month but increased by 10.1% in the 12 months to September 2022. This index combines the All Materials Index with a measure of the change in wages in the construction sector to provide an overall index for input construction costs. See Table 4.

There was a decrease in the price of wholesale electricity in September, with prices 26.9% lower than the previous month. However, the price of electricity was still 44.9% higher than in September 2021. The overall Energy Products Index decreased by 24.4% since August 2022 but increased by 42.7% when compared with September 2021. See Table 5.

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Domestic producer prices for manufactured goods were on average 10.4% higher in September 2022 compared with a year earlier, while producer prices for exported goods increased by 5.9%. Producer prices for food products rose by 8.9% in the 12 months to September 2022, while the Food Products, Beverages & Tobacco index also saw an increase of 8.9%.

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The Government has agreed that the concrete levy announced in the Budget will be cut to 5% rather than the 10% announced in the Budget last month.

It will also now be introduced in September 2023 rather than next April.

The charge will not include pre-cast concrete products in an effort to ensure that jobs in this export-led sector are protected, but will be applied to concrete and blocks coming from Northern Ireland.
A 10% levy on concrete blocks, pouring concrete and certain other concrete products in order to raise €80m annually to fund the defective blocks scheme for redress for homeowners affected by mica was announced in the Budget last month.
Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said the levy will now raise €32m annually.

He said it is a fundamental point that the Government needs a contribution from the construction sector to fund the repair of defective homes, but the levy itself would not have a sunset clause.

"This measure will be in place, I expect, for many, many years," he said.

For a three-bedroom house this levy could lead to an increase in building costs of "between 0.2% and 0.3%", the Minister added.

The Construction Industry Federation said given the volatility of the market, the levy should be "resisted" until a full regulatory and economic impact assessment has been completed.

"We need more clarity on what products the levy will be applied to and its wider impacts," a statement said.

"Even the September 2023 time frame is out of step with the needs of the public and economy at this time, when we are facing a housing crisis and unprecedented inflation."

The industry group said the proposed levy is a "blunt instrument which is not targeting those responsible for defects", saying the buyer will ultimately pay the cost.

"The proposed levy is a blunt instrument, which is not targeting those responsible for defects. The first-time buyer, public and private client will ultimately pay the cost of this," it said.

"This is a quality control issue for suppliers of raw materials and manufacturers into the construction industry."

Minister Paschal Donohoe speaking at a press briefing today (Credit: RollingNews.ie)

Yesterday it was reported that the Minister for Housing had warned the Minister Donohoe that Fianna Fáil TDs and Senators had serious reservations about the 10% levy.
In the letter from Darragh O'Brien to Minister Donohoe, which was seen by RTÉ News, Mr O'Brien told his Cabinet colleague that "these concerns were particularly acute in the context of inflammatory pressures on the building sector and (the) need to boost housing supply."

The correspondence, described as "urgent", followed a meeting of a sub-group of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party last Tuesday.

This morning Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said a concrete levy was needed to "repair the homes of thousands of people around the country".

"Under the last government we repaired almost all of the pyrite affected homes," he said.

"Under this Government we want to make a really good start on repairing the mica homes and also a lot of the defective apartment buildings that we have in our cities and that is a multi-year multi-billion-euro commitment.

"And you can't make that kind of commitment without a revenue stream to pay for it, and that's the reason for the concrete block levy.

"We know from across the water the consequences of making long-term financial commitments and not funding them and we can't repeat that mistake.

"So, this is all about repairing people's homes, mica homes, defective apartments, the remaining pyrite homes, but it's going to cost a lot of money and we need a revenue stream to put against it."

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5% concrete levy to be introduced in September

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The Government has agreed that the concrete levy announced in the Budget will be cut to 5% rather than the 10% announced in the Budget last month.

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How inflation is impacting Global brands- Hasbro

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How inflation is impacting Global brands- Hasbro

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Hasbro today missed quarterly profit estimates as higher prices for the company's toys and games put further strain on spending from inflation-weary customers.

Companies across the consumer industry have been forced to raise prices to protect their profit margins and revenue as they face higher transportation and commodity costs.

While toys have typically held up better than other discretionary categories during economic downturns, Hasbro cut its annual sales forecast earlier this month.

It warned that demand was starting to slip ahead of the holiday season due to stubbornly high inflation.

"As expected, the third quarter is our most difficult comparison and was further impacted by increasing price sensitivity for the average consumer," Hasbro chief executive Chris Cocks said.

The Monopoly game maker has also been grappling with the impact of a strengthening US dollar, which negatively impacted the company's third-quarter revenue by $53.7 million, or 3%.

Hasbro said it expects its fiscal 2022 sales to be flat to down slightly in constant currency, maintaining its updated outlook from earlier this month.

Net revenue fell 15% to $1.68 billion in the third quarter ended September 25, in line with analysts' estimates, according to Refinitiv IBES.

Hasbro's consumer products business - its largest and home to toys such as Nerf blasters and My Little Pony figures - posted a 10% fall in revenue.

The Transformers toys maker reported a 28% fall in adjusted net earnings to $196.2m, or $1.42 per share, while analysts had expected the company to earn $1.52 per share.

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Hasbro misses quarterly profit as price hikes hit

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Hasbro today missed quarterly profit estimates as higher prices for the company's toys and games put further strain on spending from inflation-weary customers. Companies across the consumer industry have been forced to raise prices to protect their profit margins and revenue as they face higher transportation and commodity costs.

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Explainer Video - Generating data on PxStat

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Explainer Video - Generating data on PxStat

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Explainer video with subtitles- Generating data on PxStat 

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Explainer video with subtitles- Generating data on PxStat 