Ireland, as part of a coordinated approach with the eurozone, will likely be offered some sort of bank guarantee to respond to the Covid-19 fallout, such is the exceptional nature of the crisis , leading economists have said.

New measures are likely to be introduced at Irish airports to monitor people entering Ireland from Europe and other parts of the world to try to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

The Irish economy is heading into recession a senior economist has warned, as official measures designed to defeat the Covid-19 outbreak hits the jobs-rich industries of tourism, hospitality, and retail.

Package to fight the spread of the coronavirus amounts to almost €630 per person

Bank of Ireland said it will advance emergency business loans for companies hit by the coronavirus fallout, while rival AIB said there was an increased risk of the outbreak damaging the Irish economy.

The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) is working on scenarios that take account of significant hits to the Irish economy should the coronavirus crisis lead to the Government imposing long periods of quarantine.

The Central Bank has urged the next government to keep a firm grip on public spending and reduce public sector debt.

“After so many years of positivity it feels like a retrograde step. (Leo) Varadkar has done a good job in his diplomacy, I wish it could be mirrored here,” he told RTÉ Radio’s Ryan Tubridy Show.

He was responding to a report that Irish Rail has received 105 complaints of anti-social behaviour on the Dublin-Cork line since the beginning of last year.

Irish shares and Government bond yields fell today as a political manoeuvre by UK prime minister Boris Johnson was seen as boosting the chances of a crash-out Brexit at Halloween and an early British election.

Strikes and service withdrawals are expected to be threatened by transport workers in response to antisocial behaviour and jobs fears in the coming weeks and months.

Surging economic activity strengthens the hand of Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe in October’s budget — despite the uncertainties of Brexit, a leading economist has said.

The cost for the Irish State for any long-term borrowing is fast approaching zero as markets reacted to the nomination of Christine Lagarde to head up the ECB.

The chance of the ECB being forced into decisive action to cut interest rates increased significantly as market expectations for inflation “collapsed” to a new low, a leading economist has said.

Reaching an interim target of 22,000 new homes this year may be missed because of the pressures of affordability and the fact that too few apartments are under construction, according to a new analysis.

Ireland’s belle of British broadcasting Angela Scanlon is taking a fresh tack to revel in the projects she is currently working on, says Esther McCarthy.

A no-deal Brexit at the end of next month will lead to the Irish economy tipping into recession and “the economic, political, and social consequences of the coming eight weeks could not be higher”, broker Goodbody has warned.

The Government must play a much bigger role in providing new homes because elevated land and construction costs mean the private market cannot build at prices the vast majority of potential buyers can afford.

Conventional wisdom on the housing situation states that while supply has picked up, there is still a long way to go to catch up with annual household demand, writes Dermot O’Leary.

Catch up on all the headlines this morning...

Transport Minister Shane Ross is proposing a radical scheme to offer share options to 11,000 CIE employees, in order to “give them a few bob” and make them feel better.

A monthly survey tracking the construction industry showed a sharp rise in house building as the CSO prepares to publish figures this week which may reveal the true picture of the housing crisis facing the State.

House building is at “unsustainable and incredibly low levels” and is coming nowhere close to meeting demand, according to a new analysis by Goodbody’s Dermot O’Leary.

Last week my colleagues in Goodbody organised an event on the theme of “funding the future of Cork”.

The Central Bank said the true number of home completions will be around 23,500 this year and 28,500 in 2019. But its new research is unlikely to put the controversy over counting new homes to bed any time soon, writes Eamon Quinn.

“Major industrial unrest across the public transport system” has been threatened if the Government continues to outsource public routes to the private sector.

Irish Rail chief executive David Franks, who was described as “anti-driver” and “anti-union” by staff representatives earlier this week, has announced that he is to leave the company in the coming months.

As Leo Varadkar and Shane Ross are quickly learning, it’s easier to grumble about a train’s location while waiting on the platform than to be responsible for getting it there in the first place.

Thousands of commuters today face the first of five days of transport chaos as Iarnród Éireann workers take to the picket lines in a strike action prompted by a prolonged pay dispute.

Travel chaos is imminent as the first of five 24-hour nationwide rail strikes looks set to go-ahead tomorrow.

Rail management and unions were locked in talks at the Workplace Relations Commission late last night to try to resolve a pay dispute which threatens to stop all services over the October Bank Holiday weekend.

Irish Rail and unions will meet at the Workplace Relations Commission today in an attempt to settle a pay dispute that threatens to bring the rail network to a halt through strikes over the October bank holiday weekend.

Irish Rail and unions will meet at the Workplace Relations Commission today in an attempt to settle a pay dispute that threatens to bring the rail network to a halt through strikes over the October bank holiday weekend.

The first hike in interest rates may be longer away than thought as the ECB holds off for almost a further three years despite the eurozone expanding at a fast clip, a leading economist has predicted.

The two largest driver unions at Irish Rail have said it is within the gift of Transport Minister Shane Ross to intervene and stave off strike action which could cripple services by the October bank holiday weekend.