The Construction Industry Federation (CIF) has hit out at the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) for advising the Government to go beyond agreed fiscal austerity by further reducing "the already limited capital investment" in the economy and increasing taxes on income.

The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has said the Government should clear the budget deficit in three years, in part by imposing further spending cuts and increasing taxes.

THE author of the Economic and Social Research Institute’s (ESRI) spring bulletin says the European Central Bank (ECB) should inject €50 billion in interest-free loans into the economy to help the Government resolve the banking crisis.

THE pill has yet to be invented to cure the economic hangover from which Ireland is suffering after the collapse of the property and banking sectors, says a leading economist.

Developers and investors in residential and commercial property markets expect the current building boom to continue, at least in the short term, according to a survey conducted at the Ulster Bank CBRE Gunne Property Conference 2005 this week.

The Irish Cigarette Machine Operators (ICMOA) has critisised the Office of Tobacco Control (OTC)-commissioned report carried out by Joe Durkan and Moore McDowell.

A GOVERNMENT-commissioned report has been unable to establish if individual pubs and restaurants will suffer financially as a result of the smoking ban.

HEALTH MINISTER Micheál Martin will go on the offensive this week to urge the public to ensure the smoking ban is enforced and insist offenders will be punished for ignoring the clampdown.

The Irish Cigarette Machine Operators Association has called on the Government to immediately publish the results of a study into the possible economic effects of the proposed ban on smoking in the workplace.