The average first-time buyer now has a deposit of almost €50,000.

The lack of a motorway between Cork and Limerick is the “single biggest gap in Irish infrastructure” and planning needs to be kick- started urgently, the boss of the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) has said.

Public pay demands amounting to €1.6bn could be more disruptive to the economy than the immediate effects of Brexit, a major consultancy firm has warned.

Botox maker Allergan has announced an additional €42m investment in its Irish operations, that will see it expand existing manufacturing capacity in Dublin and Co Mayo. 

The takeaway food market contributes more than €1bn per annum to the Irish economy; ranking it alongside the likes of the motor sales, road freight and mobile technology services sectors in terms of economic importance, new research shows.

As the festive season draws to a close, I am reminded of a recent interview on Morning Ireland with Mike Allen, director of advocacy at Focus Ireland.

Last year was the best for price growth since the onset of the recession in 2007, survey shows

Recent policy initiatives and market recovery should allow for an air of “modest optimism” around the prospects for sustained SME sector growth, a report suggests.

Half of the 63,000 additional people in work since employment bottomed out in the first half of 2012 are working for themselves and have no paid employees.

Despite recent good news on the economic outlook, SMEs are not demanding more credit to any noticeable extent, according to a new report.

The state-owned German development bank KfW is to contribute funding to the planned Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, part of the remit of which will be to improve funding availability to domestic SMEs.

Over 12% of commercial properties were vacant across the country in the third quarter of 2013.

A combination of a weak economic outlook, over-indebtedness, plummeting domestic demand, and previous over-investment are all responsible for the low levels of borrowing among SMEs, according to a major survey by consultancy firm DKM and commissioned by the Irish Banking Federation.

The EBS has said it intends to lend at least €400m to mortgage customers this year on the back of new data indicating that housing affordability is improving and returning to mid-1990s levels.

More resources need to be given to state agencies such as Enterprise Ireland to exploit a potential €9bn trade link with the Arab world.

Property prices are down again for the third quarter of the year.

Two new reports out today show house prices have dipped considerably since the start of the year, especially in Dublin and Galway.

THE Government did not even know how much it cost to build the controversial M50 toll bridge before it agreed to a €600 million buyout of the operation in 2008, it has emerged.

HOMEOWNERS are spending almost €700 less per month on their mortgage repayments, but experts said it has never been harder to get a home loan.

New figures show the average first time buyer working couple is now allocating 12.6% of their joint income to mortgage payments.

HOUSES are more affordable now than at any time in the last quarter of a century with first-time buyers accounting for a third of the mortgage lending sector.

More than 300,000 houses are lying empty around the country – three times the official estimate, academics claimed today.

Ireland is about to witness a US-style degeneration of half- built housing schemes into ghost estates, says Juno McEnroe.

NEW research shows that Irish culture is a big money spinner for the economy, generating €11.8 billion in revenues last year and accounting for 7.6% of total GNP.

THE future of regional airports such as Kerry, Galway and Donegal are again in the spotlight after the Bord Snip report said they should no longer benefit from state funding.

THE affordability index for first-time buyers continues to improve dramatically despite recent cuts in incomes.

REGIONAL airports face the threat of closure after Transport Minister Noel Dempsey said state subsidies could “no longer be justified” for routes in and out of Kerry, Galway and other airports along the west coast.

THE new cost-cutting committee dubbed “An Bord Snip Nua” will start advising the Government immediately on areas where public spending can be reduced.

FIRST-TIME buyer couples can save €2,600 when purchasing a home compared with two years ago.

THE European Commission sharply reduced its growth forecast for this year as the cool winds of the slowing global economy affects both the EU and eurozone areas.

The average first-time house buyers are paying a smaller proportion of their wages in mortgage repayments compared with a year ago, according to a new report.

First-time buyers are finding it easier to get on the property ladder, according to the latest "affordability index" from EBS and DKM.

FIRST-TIME home buyers are spending less of their monthly salary on mortgages in the first firm indication that house price affordability is improving.

THE amount of income spent by first-time buyer couples nationally servicing their mortgages has rocketed from 14.5% in 1996 to 27%.