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Opening Bell: Rents rise again, Brendan Howlin predicts 7% growth, ComReg investigates Eir practises

Private sector rents were almost 9% higher at the end of September this year, compared with the s...
Newstalk
Newstalk

07.32 10 Dec 2015


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Opening Bell: Rents rise again...

Opening Bell: Rents rise again, Brendan Howlin predicts 7% growth, ComReg investigates Eir practises

Newstalk
Newstalk

07.32 10 Dec 2015


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Private sector rents were almost 9% higher at the end of September this year, compared with the same period last year.

The latest Private Residential Tenancies Board quarterly index shows that average Dublin rents are only €30 lower than they were during the peak in 2007.

Nationally rents have increased by 4%, with the rent for private sector accommodation across the country averaging at €901, up from €830 last year.

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Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin has said that Ireland's economic growth in 2015 will be greater than 7%.

He said that rapid growth on this scale would mean that debt as a proportion of gross domestic product (GDP) would fall to close to 1.7% - over a third less than the stated target of 2.7%.

Speaking to Reuters he said that, "It’s not unusual for an economy that fell as far as ours did to have an initial bounce-back that is little short of spectacular."

He added that while unemployment remains close to 9% there is still room to continue to grow, "People talk about overheating as if we had an economy working at full capacity. We certainly haven’t."

The Central Bank's latest forecast predicted growth of 5.8% for 2015.

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Eir is being investigated by ComReg after admitting that it has engaged in discriminatory practices against rival companies who share its network.

ComReg said that a current review of its regulatory compliance could lead to Eir's wholesale and retail divisions being separated.

It has been alleged that the company's fixed-line network favours its retail arm over rival operators who pay to access the network.

Sky, BT, Vodaphone and Magnet have all launched dispute proceedings with ComReg against the company.

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The head of research at IBM's Irish operation says that the company is exploring ways to use Ireland's Knowledge Development Box in the future.

Speaking to the Irish Independent, Bill Kearney the Director of IBM's Software Lab Ireland said that he believes that using the Knowledge Box could help the company to create he jobs in Ireland:

"I would like to think so, all we can do is look at the last number of years where we have continued to grow our capacity and R&D...we would like to optimistically think that we will," he said, commenting on the use of the scheme which allows companies to pay lower taxes on profits generated through the creation of new intellectual property.


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