Rural broadband delays put us at bottom of EU table, prices double EU average


he EU’s latest official ‘Digital Scoreboard’, which compares how countries are doing against one another, shows that Ireland lies 20th in broadband take-up despite city-based services being among the best in Europe. And Ireland now comes joint last in Europe for fibre connectivity in rural regions. The report also shows that home broadband prices in […]

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As jobless rate falls, underemployment remains a worry


Unemployment is falling, with the number of people with a job expected to average the two million mark this year. And the jobless rate is set to drop to 8.8pc, before slipping further to 8.4pc next year. Data from the Central Statistics Office due to be released today will, it is expected, confirm the continuing […]

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Social Media Week Ireland kicks off around Ireland


The first Social Media Week Ireland kicks off today, with a social media conference, an awards show, social media clinics and other events taking place throughout the country all week. A digital and social media conference will take place in Liberty Hall tomorrow, as part of the week-long series of events. Speakers at the conference […]

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Irish jobs growth continuing but hiring plans scaled back slightly


KBC Bank Ireland and Chartered Accountants Ireland have today released their latest Business Sentiment Survey for Spring 2016. It shows Irish business sentiment weakened notably in the first quarter of 2016 from the nine year high recorded in the previous quarter. This pull-back stemmed from some easing in the pace of output growth and, more […]

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Minister aiming to link domestic and international businesses in Ireland


As part of a Joint Trade Mission between Enterprise Ireland and the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mary Mitchell O’Connor, today begins a two-day Trade and Investment Mission to Athlone, Sligo and Limerick as part of a ‘Global Sourcing’ initiative. The initiatives objective is to maximise sales opportunities for […]

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Over 7,600 Irish start ups formed since January


New figures released today by Vision-Net show that over 7,600 company start-ups have been formed so far this year. There were 7,665 new companies formed between the 1st January and 12th May 2016 – an average of almost 60 per day. Just over a fifth of these new companies (1,593) operate in the professional services […]

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Ireland ranked second in EU 15 for jobseekers


A report by recruitment group Indeed said Ireland comes second after Luxembourg as the most attractive location for jobseekers within the EU 15 group of countries, adjusted for population size. The EU 15 comprises the 15 earliest countries to join the trading bloc – the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Denmark, Greece, Ireland, Sweden, […]

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Experts call for investment in digital skills in schools


Experts from Trinity College in Dublin and Google have called for changes to be made to the education system to increase the number of people with digital skills. The call comes as a survey found that up to two thirds of schools do not have enough of the technology necessary to have an impact on […]

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