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Grafton Street in lockdown earlier this month. In a worse case scenario, the ESRI estimates that indirect taxes from consumer spending could be up to €6.7 billion lower this year were there to be a second lockdown of the economy in October. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill / The Irish Times

Tax hit from Covid-19, O’Flynn’s solutions to housing crisis, and new homes for D8

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The decline in consumer spending caused by the coronavirus crisis could reduce indirect tax revenue in 2020 by more than a fifth or up to €6.7bn, according to a new study by the ESRI. Laura Slattery examines the numbers.

Cork property developer Michael O’Flynn has urged the Government to create a task force to develop a series of reforms to tackle the housing crisis and help to deliver up to 140,000 new homes over the next five years. He also wants the Help-to-Buy scheme extended, and for the Central Bank to relax its rules on mortgage lending. Ciarán Hancock has the details.

US real estate group Hines and its Dutch joint venture partners, APG Asset Management, will submit a fast-track planning application to An Bord Pleanála today for the construction of 416 new homes on the former Player Wills and Bailey Gibson site on Dublin’s South Circular Road. Ronald Quinlan reports.

Organisations turned to video-calling app Zoom and other ways to virtually “meet” ministers and other public officials after the Covid-19 crisis rendered face-to-face meetings and non-essential travel impossible, the latest returns to the lobbying register show. Laura Slattery has the details.

Virgin Media has introduced a new ¤1 million support fund for companies affected by the Covid-19 crisis, which will provide them with media promotion across its television stations, writes Charlie Taylor.

In his weekly column, Chris Johns says economies devastated by Covid-19 can be rebooted successfully with bold and imaginative policies from Governments and central banks.

The Government needs to introduce a state guarantee scheme to help SMEs with liquidity issues created by the impact of the coronavirus, according to Brian Hayes, chief executive of the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland.

Stay calm and carry on is the message from Pilita Clark for those who are struggling to keep it together in the lockdown.

The Covid-19 shock is still being keenly felt by consumers and businesses but sentiment may have bottomed out, according to Bank Ireland group chief economist Loretta O’Sullivan. Laura Slattery has the details.

Irish-owned agribusiness company ClonBio Group has reported a 143 per cent rise in annual pretax profits to €95 million in 2019 after ethanol prices strengthened. Laura Slattery reports.

Business Today: the best news, analysis and comment from The Irish Times business desk