Pressure on retailers to compete with Black Friday bargains
Shoppers can expect huge bargains over the coming weeks as Irish stores ramp up to compete with the rise of 'Black Friday' and 'Cyber Monday' sales.
Aideen Sheehan
Horror house helps raise sick children's spirits
Suburbia underwent a spooky makeover this week, as thrill-seekers flocked to a south Dublin estate.
Two weeks' paid leave for new dads next year
FATHERS are to be given paid paternity leave for the first time.
Low-earning families set to benefit from working subsidies
Some 60,000 low-income working families will benefit from changes to a Government scheme to boost their earnings.
Labour fury at failure to restore jobseekers' rate to young people
JOBSEEKERS did not benefit from any of the social welfare increases given to pensioners and carers, sparking anger last night from Labour's own youth wing.
Parents to get €1,500 a year off childcare costs with extra free preschool places
FREE preschool places will be available for children for up to two-and-a-half years before they start school.
Pensioners get €3, but Burton says it’s not a buy-off
PENSIONERS are to get a €3-a- week increase in their weekly payment, whereas lone parents and the unemployed will not see any improvement in their basic social welfare rates.
Over a million people to get Christmas bonus
OVER a million people will benefit from the increase to the Christmas bonus this year.
Just 496 children benefit from State-funded scheme
Fewer than 500 children are benefiting from a government scheme designed to provide affordable after-school care to low-income families.
After-school care costing up to €10k a year
Parents are paying up to €10,000 a year for after-school care for just one child.
Mobile apps driving online food shopping
Mobile apps and handy pick-up points are driving a surge in online grocery shopping, according to retailers.
More than half price of bottle of wine goes to Government in tax
The Government now takes over half the price of a bottle of wine in tax.
Irish airport passenger numbers climb; Cork falls 5pc
The number of passengers travelling through Irish airports has increased for the third year in a row, but is still five million under its boomtime peak.
Tourism booms as numbers visiting here soar by 13pc
Tourism is booming with the number of people visiting Ireland soaring by 13pc already this year.
Consumers spend €4.5bn turning clutter into cash
Ireland's second-hand economy is valued at more than €4.5bn, with thousands of us using the web to turn "clutter into cash".
New tests on honey sold by couple in suicide pact
The Blás Irish Food Awards organisation is testing the award-winning honey produced by two of last year's winners who were both found dead.
Dairy farmers earn seven times more than beef farmers
Dairy farmers earn seven times more than beef farmers while there are also enormous regional disparities in farm incomes, according to a new study.
Seanad calls for GAA to help boost farm safety
THE GAA should be asked to help promote farm safety, a new Seanad report has urged.
Ban on gift voucher expiry dates in new law
Expiry dates on gift vouchers will be banned as part of a major overhaul of consumer law, the Irish Independent can reveal.
Government plans ban on expiry dates for gift vouchers
The Government is to ban expiry dates on gift vouchers as part of a major overhaul of consumer law.
Discount stores don't always offer best value
Discount euro stores aren't always the best place to find a bargain.
Jobless rate dips below 10pc but regional imbalances remain
The unemployment rate has risen in half the country over the first three months of the year, although the overall national rate has dropped below 10pc for the first time since the crisis.
Wedding bill soars to €800 - and that's just for the guests
Saying "I do" to a wedding invitation will set you back €800.
Some sun creams don't deliver on protection, warns watchdog
Two leading sun creams on sale in Ireland fail to deliver the sun protection claimed, according to tests carried out by consumer watchdog Which?
Electricity or gas is cut off in almost 2,500 homes
Nearly 2,500 homes have had their gas or electricity cut off this year because the bills weren't paid.
Two sun creams on sale in Ireland failed to deliver sun protection it promises on label, according to consumer watchdog
Two leading sun creams fail to deliver the sun protection claimed for them according to tests carried out by consumer watchdog Which?
FSAI clamps down on misuse of 'artisan' food labels
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland is cracking down on overuse of marketing terms like natural, artisan and farmhouse.
Rise of zero hour contracts and highly variable hours 'puts workers at more risk of illness and injury'
THE rise of zero hours contracts and highly variable working hours put workers more at risk of illness and injury.
Minimum wage hike 'risks jobs' - Finance chiefs
The Department of Finance has warned of serious risks surrounding the increase of the national minimum wage in a move that will spark fresh tensions within the Coalition.
Spending up 4.3pc as consumers splash out
Consumer spending is up 4.3pc in the last year with online sales growing three times faster than in-store purchases.
Tax breaks for childcare will drive up prices, committee told
Tax credits for childcare can lead to costs going up, as has happened in other countries where they've been introduced, a Dáil committee on children has been told.
Number of files on children in Tusla probe rises to 1,200
The number of unidentified files on children being investigated by child and family agency Tusla has risen to at least 1,200.
Hospital café ordered to shut after rat found
A hospital café was one of seven food businesses to receive closure orders during April, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland has reported.
Salads 'have more calories than burger and fries'
A lunchtime salad can contain more calories than a Big Mac and fries.
The salads that have more calories than a Big Mac and chips
A lunch-time salad can contain more calories than a Big Mac and chips.
We're spending €5m a week on renovations
Homeowners are splurging €5m a week on doing up their houses.
New vision for contact lens firm brings 125 jobs
Some 125 new jobs have been announced at a manufacturing plant that only last year was on the verge of closure.
Travel tips: Six ways to avoid holiday money traps
From booking blunders to roaming bills, holidays can cost the earth if you're not careful. Aideen Sheehan helps you avoid the pitfalls
Consumers splash out on cars
Cars and bars were the biggest beneficiaries of a mini-surge in consumer spending last month.
Huge variation in price of vitamins
Effervescent vitamin C tablets are the country's best selling supplement - but consumers are paying widely varying amounts for similar products.
Taking high doses of vitamins could actually damage your health
Consumers trying to put a pep in their step by taking victim supplements could be doing more harm than good.
Post Office wants to dump letters that don't have enough stamps
An Post could end up throwing away letters that don't have enough postage paid on them under new terms it wants to impose on customers.
EU fines farmers €69m for producing too much milk
Farmers in Ireland face a €69m fine after finishing the year 4.3pc over milk quota.
Raise tax on wine with higher alcohol: expert
Increased tax on high-alcohol wines should be considered to limit their health risk, a leading expert has urged.
Craft beers: Why you might just be drinking a lot more than you think...
More and more Irish people are saying make mine a craft beer, as they swap their usual pints for a seemingly more sophisticated tipple. But what they don't know is that a single craft beer can contain up to twice as much alcohol as some more mainstream beers, so they may actually be drinking a lot more alcohol than they think.
We wait until 25 to fly the nest - but men savour home comforts more than women
Irish people are waiting until they reach 25 before they fly the nest and get their own place.
Overweight Irish seek healthier food in shops in bid to lose weight
Over half of Irish people are trying to lose weight and retail figures show people have been making the switch to healthier products.
Childcare costs force thousands of mums out of work
The high cost of childcare is forcing 3,000 mothers a year out of the Irish workforce.
Ireland's Ancient East aims to emulate success of the Wild Atlantic Way
It aims to be the east's answer to the Wild Atlantic Way, showcasing the best of Irish heritage.
'Subsidies needed' to aid retirees caring for grandkids
A year's paid maternity leave and subsidies for childcare providers are needed to ease the excessive childcare burden on grandparents, a group representing creches has said.
Cost of filling up car at petrol pump to keep on rising
Petrol prices are still rising and the signs are that this is set to continue.
Australians fear Irish using names 'as gaeilge' in visa fraud
THE Australian authorities are investigating a migration fraud amid concerns Irish people may be using passports issued in their Irish-language names to conceal their identity as they seek visas.
Report finds safety gap in controls at milk plants
Gaps in safety controls at Irish milk-processing plants have been highlighted in a Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) report.
Irish Heart Foundation calls for nationwide ban on junk food in Irish schools
Most secondary schools are serving up unhealthy junk food, such as pizza, sausage rolls and chocolate, to pupils.
Engineer vows to work to advance cause of young farmers as he's elected Macra na Feirme's 35th president
Roscommon engineer Seán Finan has vowed to work to advance the cause of young farmers after being elected the 35th president of Macra na Feirme.
Energy drinks have same caffeine as four espressos
Energy drinks which are openly available in most shops can contain as much caffeine as four espressos or up to 18 teaspoons of sugar.
Rigorous testing between the farm and fridge
ALTHOUGH the humble glass of milk has not changed much down the generations, the level of scrutiny it's put under has dramatically intensified.
Milk quotas: Production to soar while farmer numbers fall by 3,000
Ireland will see the number of dairy farms actually drop, even as milk production soars.
Sligo craves a chilli kick as cooks choose kale in capital
Dubliners love their kale and avocado, while Sligo cooks go for a chilli kick, and Donegal dwellers prefer berries and sweet potatoes.
Healthy sweets and other treats lure overseas buyers
Healthy sweets were attracting lots of interest at a Bord Bía conference matching up Irish foodmakers with international buyers yesterday.
Public transport needs major funding - Donohoe
ECONOMIC recovery led to an extra eight million trips being made on public transport last year.
One in three used cars faulty within a year, research finds
Nearly everybody will buy a secondhand car at some stage in their life, but new research shows we're extremely likely to run into problems.
Vegetarian options, pizzas and ketchup often surprisingly high in salt content
CHILDREN'S meals at restaurants often contain more salt than the maximum daily intake recommended by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland.
'Healthy' bars are cereal offenders
SNACKS that sound healthy can contain very high levels of sugar.
Half of secondary roads could have speed limits reduced under new guidelines
HALF of secondary roads and 10pc of national roads could have their speed limits reduced under new guidelines introduced by the Department of Transport.
Major safety drive aimed at dairy farmers
Dairy co-ops have launched a major new farm safety drive as farmers expand to take advantage of the end of milk quotas next month.
More than 700 Irish children fall ill after ingesting poisonous liquitabs this year
Hundreds of children in Ireland have suffered ill effects from swallowing or handling liquid laundry capsules in the past four years.
Online game addiction hits alarming level among young
A growing number of young people are becoming addicted to online video games, a leading addiction specialist has warned.
Tips for worried parents
Observe age limits on games.
Former pro-gamer sets up business to protect 'Minecraft' fans
Shane Mooney is so aware of the pitfalls of computer gaming he's setting up a business to help children avoid them.
Tourists spend €4.7bn here as visitor numbers soar by 8.9pc
Some 7.6 million overseas visitors came to Ireland in 2014, spending €4.68bn, according to new Central Statistics Office figures.
Cost of living falls 0.5pc in the past year as petrol and grocery prices drop
Lower petrol, clothes and food prices have helped push the cost of living down 0.5pc in the last year.
New young farmers scheme attracts 2,000 people
TWO thousand young farmers have applied for a new scheme aimed at encouraging the handover of land to the next generation.
Huge turnout as newspaper legend Drury laid to rest
Former 'Evening Herald' editor Paul Drury was laid to rest after a packed funeral service in Rathmichael Parish Church in south Dublin yesterday.
Welfare benefits at risk for people who fail to get identity cards
OVER 10,000 consumers a week are being summonsed to meetings with the Department of Social Protection to get new identity cards or risk having their child benefit, free travel or other welfare payments cut off.
Paul Drury funeral: He was 'never one to engage in woolly thinking'
THE president Michael D Higgins and Taoiseach Enda Kenny were both represented at the funeral of former Evening Herald editor Paul Drury today.
Food Safety Authority calls for ban on sale of raw milk
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland has called for the sale of unpasteurised raw milk to be banned after tests showed harmful bacteria.
'Motherhood and work just don't go together in Ireland'
MOTHERHOOD and employment are not compatible in Irish society, a new study into the lives of working women has found.
Childcare burden three times higher in Ireland
Families in Ireland spend 35pc of their income on childcare compared to 12pc in the rest of Europe.
EU delays abolition of roaming charges until at least 2018
HOPES that roaming charges would be abolished this year have been dashed as EU ministers backed a plan to keep them until at least 2018.
Group to deal with fallout from end of milk quotas
Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney is set to announce the establishment of a high-level forum to deal with fallout from the end of milk quotas.
Hogan's new laws to stop suppliers being squeezed
EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan has promised to bring in new legislation to crack down on unfair practices in the retail sector by the end of the year.
We're back shopping - but only if price right
Retail sales have soared by 8.8pc in the last year as consumers buy more big-ticket items such as cars, furniture and electrical goods.
Coffee cycle
Steep rocky mountainside on tiny plots of just a few acres are the starting point for coffee's long journey from bean to your morning cappuccino.
Caffeine queens: Where exactly does your morning cup of coffee come from?
Ireland's growing legions of coffee connoisseurs will have spotted the latest must-have brew being rolled out across the country - coffee grown by women.
Energy firms are 'fleecing' Irish customers - TD
Energy companies have been accused of "fleecing" customers by not passing on the full impact of wholesale gas price reductions in gas and electricity bills to everyone.
Jobless rate dips below 10pc for first time since 2008
The unemployment rate has dropped below 10pc for the first time since the economy collapsed in 2008.
Vat breaks help hotel prices here drop to half those in Paris or London
Dublin hotel prices are half those of London and Paris, helping occupancy rates in the Irish capital grow to 78pc in the past three years.
'Lower VAT rate helped create over 30,000 jobs' - economist Alan Ahearne
THE 9pc tourism VAT rate has helped create over 30,000 jobs while costing the state a fraction of what was feared in lost tax revenue, it was claimed today.
Fairtrade sales soar by 12pc for discerning Irish consumers
IRISH consumers upped their spending on Fairtrade products by 12pc last year to €221m, even though overall grocery purchases only rose 1pc.
Household bills don't reflect gas price drop
WHOLESALE gas prices have fallen by 18pc in the last year but households are only set to get a fraction of that reduction in their energy bills.
More than 30,000 families will lose lone-parent payment in July
More than 30,000 single parents will lose their One-Parent Family payments this July, the Department of Social Protection has said.
We're healthy and wise but not very wealthy
THE Irish population is healthy but not very wealthy with prices here still higher than nearly everywhere else in Europe. A new report shows we're out-breeding, outliving and out-educating most of our neighbours, while we're also three times less likely to divorce.
Cost of living in Ireland fifth highest in EU
IRISH prices are 20pc above the EU norm despite having the lowest inflation rate since 2009.
Marriage is still in fashion among our loved-up couples
He's 34 and she's 32, they met at work and they plan to have two children who they'll call Jack and Emily.
Looking for love online? Beware of rip-off websites
THOSE looking for love this Valentine's Day have been warned that now is also the peak time for complaints about online dating services.
Green tide leads to Rome for Patrick’s Day makeover
The Colosseum in Rome and the Sacre Coeur church in Paris are among 120 landmark sites going green for St Patrick’s Day.
Green tide leads to Rome for St Patrick's Day greening
The Colosseum in Rome and the Sacre Coeur church in Paris are among 120 landmark sites going green for St Patrick's Day.
Age and behaviour link to farm fatalities
Behaviour and the older age-profile of farmers are key factors in the rise in farm deaths, a new study by Teagasc has found.
Drink and us - how the Irish really are a nation of bingers
So what exactly is the story with the Irish and drink?
Free TV or bundling is the way to go for maximum value
Many consumers are now paying over €1,000 a year for home TV, broadband and phone services.
Derry Clarke: Calorie counts on menus is "past ridiculous"
The Government's plan to force restaurants to put calorie counts on menus has been met with differing reactions.
Doctors and chefs divided over new move to put calorie counts on menus
Top chefs and doctors are sharply divided over the Government's move to force restaurants to put calorie counts on menus.
Pub fined €7,000 over counterfeit Smirnoff
A PUB has been fined €7,000 for selling below-strength counterfeit Smirnoff vodka and misleading consumers and an investigator probing the fraud.
Consumer confidence hits nine-year high
Consumer confidence has hit a nine-year high.
Jobless rate continues to drop to 10.5pc
Unemployment continued its downward trend in January as another 3,600 people came off the Live Register.
Drink culture is broke, so let's try and fix it
IT'S pretty easy for me to support a move to higher alcohol prices given I don't drink.
Dairy farmers face €30,000 earnings slump this year
Dairy farmers' earnings will fall by €30,000 each this year due to very low milk prices.
Package holidays return as 400,000 sign up
MORE than 400,000 Irish holidaymakers are expected to travel on traditional package holidays this year.
Dairy farms most dangerous workplace - safety watchdog
Dairy farms are the most dangerous of any workplace, accounting for 58pc of all farm fatalities, the Health and Safety Authority (HSA)has said.
Surge in poultry bacteria illness must be tackled says watchdog
The poultry industry must clamp down on a potentially life-threatening bacteria that has infected more people than ever before, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has warned.
We shopped more last year - but only if the price was right
RETAIL sales surged by 6.3pc in 2014, helped by strong car sales and an increase in Christmas spending.
Potentially lethal form of food poisoning surges to highest level ever here
INFECTION with potentially life-threatening campylobacter has surged to its highest level since records began in Ireland making it the most commonly reported type of food poisoning.