More than half of Irish estate agents see house prices levelling off soon
rise by a further 5 per cent
over the next 12 months, amid ongoing supply shortages, according to a survey of estate agent members of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI). Joe Brennan reports on the predicted growth.
However, 60 per cent of those polled see prices levelling off soon, with a further 18 per cent saying that they have already peaked – after a dozen years of continuous growth.
Joe Brennan also reports on Goodbody Stockbrokers making
a number of senior hires
in a bid to boost the business. A number of staff left the organisation's investment banking area in late 2023, during and after a redundancy programme.
Among the appointments is Stephen Kane, a former corporate finance director with the firm, who left in October 2023 for householder Cairn Homes.
READ MORE
In her latest column,
Pilita Clark
writes about the really concerning thing about the Coldplay concert scandal. This scandal, of course, concerns the former CEO of tech company Astronomer, who was caught with his arms wrapped around the company's head of human resources. Their embrace was captured on the big screen at the band's concert in Boston and has gone viral. Pilita Clark addresses the barrage of fabricated online statements purporting to be from those with insight.
'Some governments are trying to legislate against this muck, notably in the EU. The Coldplay couple — and the misleading maelstrom that followed their exposure — are a reminder that many more authorities need to join them,' she says.
The co-founder of Dublin restaurant group Kinara and president of the Restaurant's Association of Ireland, Seán Collender, revealed
the details of the impact of rising input costs
that are leaving hospitality businesses on 'an extremely fine line'. 'These are huge, huge costs and we don't sell gold bars, we sell food,' he told Hugh Dooley.
We need to enact a specific legal mandate, in the overriding national interest, to drive forward critical projects and avoid the endless round of planning applications, appeals and judicial reviews. Had we done that for the metro, it would have been finished a decade ago, writes
John FitzGerald
in his weekly column.
'But unless the planning system is reformed, I'm unlikely during my lifetime to ride the metro or drink Shannon water from my tap,' he says.
How will the updated National Development Plan shape Ireland in years to come?
Listen |
35:59
In 2025, it is both remarkable and disappointing that progress in tackling the gender gap in leadership is taking a backwards step in Ireland, with a 24.8 per cent year-on-year drop in women hired into top jobs here.
There are no women leading any of the major Irish companies listed on stock markets, writes
Sue Duke
, vice-president of global public policy at LinkedIn, in our Business Opinion slot.
If you would like to read more about the issues that affect your finances, sign up to
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, the weekly newsletter from our personal finance team, which will be issued every Friday to Irish Times subscribers.
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Irish Daily Mirror
8 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Location of Ireland's newest millionaire announced by EuroMillions bosses
The location of Ireland's newest millionaire has been revealed by the National Lottery after Friday night's EuroMillions Ireland-Only raffle. Lotto bosses have confirmed that the lucky holder of the winning ticket, worth a whopping €1,005,000, hails from Co Sligo. The ticket was purchased online on July 19. The winning raffle ticket number was I-SLF-56168 . A notification and confirmation email has been delivered to the online player, who is advised to make contact with the National Lottery prize claims team on 1800 666 222 or email claims@ to arrange the collection of their prize. Friday night's EuroMillions draw involved a special Ireland-Only raffle event as one player who won €5,000 with their unique raffle ticket number saw an additional €1million added to their prize. The lucky Sligo player marks Ireland's 16th National Lottery millionaire of the year. In other good news, a player in Co Louth secured a life-changing €500,000 after matching all five numbers in Friday's EuroMillions Plus draw. This winning Quick Pick ticket was bought on July 26 from Applegreen, Old Newry Road in Dundalk. The winning numbers in last night's EuroMillions Plus draw were: 4, 5, 15, 16 and 40. Congratulations to the lucky EuroMillions player (Image: National Lottery) There was no winner of the EuroMillions jackpot, which was worth more than €166million, but over 67,000 players won prizes across the EuroMillions and EuroMillions Plus draws. "What a night for our players! We've got a brand-new millionaire in Sligo thanks to the Ireland Only Raffle, and a brilliant €500,000 win in Louth from the EuroMillions Plus draw," said Darragh O'Dwyer, spokesperson for The National Lottery "That's €1.5 million in top tier prizes heading to two counties in one night! We're absolutely thrilled and can't wait to meet our latest winners including Ireland's newest millionaire!" For more of the latest breaking news from the Irish Mirror check out our homepage by clicking here
Irish Times
9 hours ago
- Irish Times
Ireland's county towns: ‘There were 300 people living on this street. Now it's 17'
The Lyons Café, on Quay Street, has a grand facade unusual for an Irish town, even if it is located in the county town of Sligo , population 20,608 in the 2022 census. Above the cafe entrance is the beautiful and original stained glass canopy, which would have set the tone for a special visit to a special place. The original mosaic spelling out the cafe's name in the porch is also still in situ. 'The Lyons separtment store from dates from the 1850s, and the cafe opened in 1926,' says Gary Stafford, who owns and runs the cafe. 'We'll be having a big centenary celebration next year.' The cafe is located upstairs and now seats 135 people. When it opened first, it hosted dances and dinners. Stafford takes me to the original section of the room, where coloured leaded windows are still in place. He points down at the wooden floor, which looks in amazingly good condition to me. 'This is the original maple floor. It's sprung for dancing. We sand it back every four or five years.' As if all this was not enough time travel, Stafford tells me the cafe chairs are also original. They were imported from the then Czechoslovakia before the second World War. 'A lot of bums have sat on these seats,' as Stafford puts it. It's only a shame there isn't some notice on the wall to inform visitors of these facts about the cafe's history and furniture: everyone loves an origin story. READ MORE 'We have always depended on our local trade,' Stafford adds. He scans the space, saying he recognises most of the customers currently in the cafe, which is almost full. 'We have regulars that come in four times a week.' Lyons is now a daytime business, where the menu changes daily. There is also a bakery on site, downstairs. 'Everything is baked and cooked on site. We have beef featherblade on today.' At Michael Cosgrove's delicatessen on Market Square, there is a framed photograph of the late, magnificent, Leonard Cohen behind the counter, along with a framed playlist of his songs. 'Ah, that's from the concerts he did at Lissadell in 2010,' Cosgrove says. Was Cosgrove there on one of the two nights, I ask. 'There both nights,' he says. 'It was brilliant. Just brilliant.' Stained glass canopy at entrance to Lyons Cafe in Sligo. Photograph: James Connolly Lyons Café owner Gary Stafford. Chairs in the cafe were imported from Czechoslovakia before the second World War. Photograph: James Connolly There's a photo of a dog, a golden doodle, also on prominent display behind the counter. 'What's the dog's name?' I ask. Cosgrove laughs. 'Leonard.' Cosgrove grew up over this shop in the 1970s, at a time when many others were also living on the street. 'There were 300 people living here. Now there are about 17.' What changes has he noticed in Sligo over time? 'I don't like Sligo being misrepresented as a city, It is a county town and should be left as a county town. It's the council who are trying to make out it's a city. It's a county town, and you can't dress it up as a city. Sligo is a market town.' Cosgrove reflects on other changes: 'The disappearance of shops like butchers and grocers and newsagents. The spread of the town outwards. Traffic chaos every day. We are not bypassed. They tried to pedestrianise O'Connell Street some years ago, but it didn't work.' Michael Cosgrove, at Cosgrove and Sons delicatessen, Market Street, Sligo. Photograph: James Connolly O'Connell Street, Sligo. Photograph: James Connolly 'They tried to pedestrianise O'Connell Street some years ago, but it didn't work.' Photograph: James Connolly The days of the shop selling butter or sugar or tea are long gone. The tightly packed shelves contain everything you could possibly think of in the line of preserves and food in jars, tins and packets. Even the most cursory scan of the shelves reveals every kind of dried and canned beans and pulses, a score of different honeys, ranges of mustards, chutneys and pickles, along with items such as jars of curried peaches, Béarnaise sauce and pickled walnuts. 'Our customers are mostly local. If you have good quality stuff, you will always get customers.' His best-sellers are mostly fresh items from the cold counter. 'We cook our own hams and turkeys, pickle our own beef, and sell a lot of cheese.' What would Cosgrove describe as the most exotic item he currently stocks? He thinks for a few seconds, doing an inventory in his head. 'A tin of banana blossoms from Thailand.' He feels there is more that could be made of the town. 'We have a lot of history in Sligo we don't use that we could use. For instance, we have a fabulous Victorian jail [where both Michael Collins and Michael Davitt were incarcerated] that is falling apart. Why hasn't that been renovated as a tourist attraction?' The Yeats Building at Hyde Bridge, Sligo. Photograph: James Connolly Susan O Keeffe, director of the Yeats Society, in the Yeats Building. Photograph: James Connolly One aspect of Sligo town, and the wider county that has long been successfully marketed to tourists, is its connection with the Nobel prize-winning poet, WB Yeats. In fact, the entire county is frequently referred to as 'Yeats Country'. Susan O'Keeffe, journalist and former senator, is the director of the Yeats Society, which has occupied a former bank building at Hyde Bridge in the town centre since 1973. Perhaps surprisingly for a former bank, the building is of a charming arts and crafts design, with its original coloured stained glass windows and panelling throughout. This year marks the 66th anniversary of the Yeats Summer School, which finished yesterday. Some 65 people travelled from China, Japan, India, the US, Germany and other countries for the 10-day event. Does O'Keeffe think the term 'county town' as it refers to Sligo still has a relevance in 2025? 'We learned the names of county towns years ago in geography. County towns back then had a meaning, and were a piece of our history,' she says. 'But I have never heard anyone refer to Sligo as a 'county town' – and nor do I use the term myself. People might say Sligo is the biggest town in the county, which it is; by far the biggest town. I don't think the term 'county town' is still relevant today. Maybe we will forget about it, and it will be something that won't endure.' I ask O'Keeffe what she considers the essence of Sligo town, county town or not. 'Leaning over the Hyde Bridge and watching the swans in the Garavogue river,' she says. 'You see people doing that all the time. You don't even think about it. You are in the middle of the town, and the river is its strength. It flows out of mystical Lough Gill, and right through the heart of Sligo town out through the port and into the great Atlantic Ocean.' A man who knows all about the origins of the Garavogue river is John Carton, who is the harbour master of Sligo port. While many people are aware of Killybegs port further north in Co Donegal, and the port of Galway to the south of Sligo, they may not be aware that Sligo town still has its own, and historic, working port. Harbour master John Carton at Sligo port. Photograph: James Connolly The Glasshouse hotel and Garavogue river. Photograph: James Connolly 'It's been operating since about the 12th century,' Carton explains. We are talking in the foyer of the Glasshouse Hotel, on the banks of the Garavogue. He gestures around the lobby. 'We are currently on the site of the medieval port here,' he says, as I stare around, imagining ships docked in the area where armchairs and sofas are now clustered. Sligo harbour was built in 1822. Carton himself grew up around the area. His father, also John, was the dredge master of the port. 'He gave me the love of the sea and respect of the sea.' For Carton's 10th birthday, his father gave him a 31-foot wooden boat with a sail and an outboard engine, as well as a sense of trust that the young boy would be able to safely manage it. 'Originally, Sligo was trading with Spain, Portugal and up into the Baltics. Back then, Sligo was a bigger settlement than Galway, and a bigger trading town than Galway.' What was being traded? 'Oats, barley and potatoes were going out. Gin, wine and spices were coming in. There were casks of sherry coming in from Portugal. Sligo was also trading with a lot of European ports, and selling some of these things on again.' This back and forth of trading continued all through the 1800s and into the early 20th century, via sailing vessels and steam boats. In addition to goods, many people from the west of Ireland emigrated via Sligo port. During the Famine of the 1840s, thousands sailed for Canada and the US. 'As a child who lived in a port area, you would see lots of different crews coming in over time. It widens your horizons.' He recalls that in the 1970s, Sligo was exporting cattle to Glasgow, Liverpool – and every three weeks – to the unlikely location of Libya. 'That was when Gaddafi was in power,' he says. How many cattle were being exported to Libya in the 1970s from Sligo? 'In enough numbers to justify the journey every three weeks. I've looked at the records, and they just say 'cattle'.' (The port records are stored in the Sligo County Museum.) 'To me, the county town is the town that is the focus of your county, and that's what Sligo is. We were a port town first, and then the railway came afterwards to connect us.' Sligo port remains a working port. 'We export fish meal, and logs to make paper. The fishmeal is processed in Killybegs and goes to Norway, Greece, and the UK. Timber goes to Scotland, Germany and Belgium.' A paper log is still maintained for all ships that come in and out of Sligo. The average number of ships into harbour a year has been 20 in recent years, but by the time I talk to Carton in early July, that number has already been exceeded. 'It'll be more like 40 this year,' he says. Could more be made of the port in terms of tourism or leisure? 'A lot of Irish towns had turned their back on the water, but now that is now changing. There are plans to build a marina at Rosses Point, so we will see what happens.' [ The ancient Irish town battling against decline: 'It used to be the centre of things, but those days are gone now' Opens in new window ] Later that evening. I find myself crossing the Hyde Bridge. It's raining. Even so, I stop for a couple of minutes, lean on the bridge and listen to the rushing waters of the Garavogue river sweeping underneath, as if unseen creatures are urgently calling to each other as they pass by. If towns have distinctive sounds, this is what Sligo sounds like, and always has. Next week: Rosita Boland visits Clonmel
Irish Times
12 hours ago
- Irish Times
Discriminations by AC Grayling: A simple take on the culture wars
Discriminations: Making Peace in the Culture Wars Author : AC Grayling ISBN-13 : 978-0861549962 Publisher : Oneworld Guideline Price : £12.99 In Discriminations, AC Grayling essentially suggests that respect for human rights and commitment to reasoned debate are the antidotes to the poisonous state of politics. A simple solution. The title, Discriminations, plays with two meanings. Firstly, there is discrimination in the sense of sexism, racism and other prejudices which Grayling positions himself as firmly against, taking the side of social justice and defending those pilloried as 'woke'. Secondly, there is discrimination in the sense of making subtle distinctions – between rights and interests, between free-speech and hate-speech, for instance. Grayling offers a historical perspective on cancel culture, stretching the term to include collective cancelling, for example the crusade against Albigensian heretics in 13th century France, or individual cancelling, such as the pillory of Oscar Wilde. He argues that tactics such as 'no-platforming' or 'cancelling' are rarely justified, and that abandoning the principle of free speech to the right is a mistake by the left, feminists or the 'woke'. READ MORE Aside from how far-fetched these historical comparisons appear, the main thrust of the book is that the current poisonous state of the culture wars is created by all participants, left, right or otherwise. Grayling suggests that the left must examine its tactics and respect free speech, and that the right must respect human rights as distinct from interests – the maintenance of advantages. Along the way, he drifts into 'both-sides' style equations of the hard left and hard right. The extremes are the problem; those in the centre hold the answers. Supposedly rising above the 'culture war', Grayling proposes liberal solutions: rights, debate, freedom. These are hard to disagree with but obviously these are widespread, even dominant ideas of the last century. Grayling admonishes everyone to return to these principles, which should deliver a harmonious political debate – full of difference and disagreement but civil. Today, when authoritarian populists and neoliberals are the champions of free speech, this is insufficient. With a schoolmasterly tone – though often implausible, ' ... reflection will suggest, fundamentally, morality is a matter of good manners ...' – Grayling's book is almost endearingly nostalgic. The simple solution of reasonable arguments countering problematic views is alluring, but hardly tenable now. Effectively, the culture wars means that what counts as problematic or reasonable is now essentially contested. Even where his diagnosis is apt, his solutions seem implausible.
