Every Economy & Policy story published on Business Pulse — all in one place.
A 15% tariff on most EU goods entering the US. Zero tariffs on US industrial goods entering the EU. A sunset clause. A pharmaceutical uncertainty. And Ireland — with €139 billion in pharma exports and 245,000 people employed by US multinationals — directly in the centre of it all.
Income tax up. VAT up. Corporation tax tracking ahead of forecast. Total tax receipts 6.1 per cent ahead of last year with four months still to go. The May 2026 Exchequer returns tell a story of an Irish economy that is performing with remarkable resilience.
$41 billion injected into global GDP. $871 million in prize money. 6 billion viewers. 5 million fans in stadiums. The 2026 FIFA World Cup is not just the biggest sporting event ever staged — it is one of the most significant economic events of the decade.
Irish-owned companies are exporting at record levels. Enterprise Ireland's client base generated €36.75 billion in export sales in 2025 — a 7 per cent increase on the previous year.
Business leaders across sectors are unanimous: the inability to house workers is becoming the binding constraint on Irish growth.
Headline GDP hides a domestic productivity problem. The CSO data tells a different story to the IDA press release.