The decision follows similar moves by banks in Italy and the UK to support personal and business customers.

Households will fork out around €2,800 in shops this December, around €940 more than any other month of the year.

Keelings fruit producers have been preparing for Brexit since 2016 but they still expect to face many unknown challenges following a UK-crash out.

A further softening in retail sales is expected as the second half of the year progresses, after a continued slowdown in consumer spending in the past three months.

Bank of Ireland said its offer of a 0.2% discount for ‘green’ mortgage borrowers to upgrade their homes will incentivise homeowners to install energy insulation and help the fight against climate change.

New restrictions on retail centres on the outskirts of towns of populations of under 10,000, rural broadband, and new efforts to get the attention of central and local government will be required to fight against the decline of regional main streets across the country, say surveyors.

The Black Friday and the Cyber Monday online spending splurge is bad for retailers and possibly poor value for shoppers too, Moody’s Investors Service has warned.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday will be a “double-edged sword” for Irish retailers with margin pressures incurred from major discounting offsetting the spike in business, a retail expert has said.

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe should keep the low 9% Vat rate for small service providers, such as hairdressers and cafe owners, and introduce a tax credit to help shops build out websites to compete with large online retailers, industry group Retail Ireland has said.

Storm Emma hit Irish retailers for tens of millions of euros as the snow and winds kept customers away from the shops, figures indicate.

Bargain hunters — assemble! The great sales rush began in earnest yesterday as many households shook off the Christmas Day fun with a bout of retail therapy.

Irish consumers will spend more this Christmas, but a push is on to ensure that overseas online retailers are not the only businesses to benefit.

‘Black Friday’ is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to changing consumer buying habits

Minimum unit pricing on alcohol could prevent nearly three deaths a week, bring about a reduction in crime, and reduce hospital admissions by over 4,000 per year, a health body has claimed.

Minimum wage workers are set to see their pay increase by up to €12 a week in January in a move employers claim is not affordable and could threaten jobs.

Retailers are calling for reform of the local authority rates system.

Retail groups are predicting that Brexit will continue to be a major risk factor for Irish retailers and consumers.

Striking bus drivers marched through the streets of Dublin yesterday but the issue in Cork City and other areas affected by the continuing dispute is the opposite: A noticeable drop in footfall.

Irish consumer spending is expected to grow by as much as 5%, in volume terms, this year, despite Brexit effects and monthly retail sales remaining erratic.

Ostensibly booming pre-Christmas retail sales data capped a good week for the economy, as surveys on the services industry and start-ups pointed to a good start for 2017.

Retailers say they have not seen the expected increase in business over the Christmas period.

Shoplifting adds 3% to the price of products, and around Christmas, it reaches epidemic proportions.

Tomorrow, bargain hunters will be in seventh heaven with some stores opening at 6am for a pre-Christmas shopping phenomenon.

The impact of Brexit could make for a gloomy Christmas for retailers after latest indications of a slowdown in the sector ahead of the festive period.

Tens of thousands of commuters in Dublin will today use bikes, taxis, cars, and any other mode of transport to get around as a 48-hour Dublin Bus strike begins.

A recommended 10c increase in the national minimum wage — outlined to government yesterday and due to be considered as part of the October Budget package — has been widely-slammed as being anti-business and potentially damaging to Ireland’s competitiveness.

After eight years of penny-pinching, consumers have finally found the confidence this Christmas to splash out on ‘big ticket’ items, Retail Ireland has confirmed.

Industry group Retail Ireland is predicting the country's biggest December spending spree since Christmas since 2008.

With Christmas coming there seems to be a return to consumerism – that’s all we need to make us happy. But, are we missing the trick? asks Fergus Finlay

Irish retailers are predicting their best Christmas in seven years.