Start-up fundraising rose in first half of 2020 but ‘worrying trends’ appear
Irish start-ups raised €545m in the first half of the year - up 25% on the same period of 2019 - however that figure masks some "very worrying trends" according to TechIreland. The figure for the first six months of 2020 was the highest recorded in four years, according to TechIreland, the independent organisation that promotes Irish start-ups. However it said it was distorted by [...]
Irish companies show impressive flexibility with diversification to Europe
One of the challenges we face in growing our economy is the limited size of our domestic market. Ireland's entry into the then EEC in 1973, and subsequent adoption of the euro in 2002, opened the door to a large and developed marketplace. As the EU has progressed and expanded the four freedoms - goods, services, people and capital - the eurozone has effectively become [...]
Consumer index stalling but firms’ confidence coming back
Consumer sentiment continues to lag behind business confidence, fresh data from Bank of Ireland suggests. Bank of Ireland's regular 'Economic Pulse' combines business and consumer elements to track sentiment in the economy month to month. The index was up 5.5 on last month but down 21.0 compared with a year ago. Business confidence has risen but the consumer pulse stood at 55.5 in July, down [...]
The new European Innovation Council aims to create unicorn companies
Unicorn companies, start-ups with a value of more than $1 billion, are about as rare in Europe as living examples of those mythical creatures. The European Commission hopes to change that through the creation of the European Innovation Council (EIC). “The EIC is to be a counterweight to the European Research Council, ” explains Science Foundation Ireland director general Prof Mark Ferguson, who is also chair of the EIC advisory board. “The ERC’s role is [...]
Home grown business drives success of Irish economy – ESRI
While foreign multinationals make a valuable contribution, the success of the Irish economy “now depends very heavily on the progress of domestic business”, a study by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has concluded. In a research paper entitled Understanding recent trends in the Irish economy, economist John FitzGerald suggests that the economy here grew by about 5 per cent a year between 2013 [...]
Almost no insurance claims paid out under business interruption cover
Almost no Irish businesses have been paid out on business interruption insurance claims since the Covid-19 lockdown, according to a survey by lobby group the Alliance for Insurance Reform. A third of businesses have made a claim with their insurer and almost two-thirds of those claims have been rejected, according to a survey of 2,095 businesses carried out among between May 29th and June 7th. [...]