Mr Makhlouf may also amplify concerns he expressed when the bank’s Financial Review was published earlier this month – about softening of consumer sentiment, cautiousness among companies in terms of investment decisions, and the impact that any reduction in activity by US multinationals would have in terms of jobs and tax receipts in Ireland.
While the annual ritual of pre-Budget submissions is well underway, the Finance Minister’s thoughts may not have fully turned to what he is going to announce in October, given that he faces an election at the next meeting of Eurogroup finance ministers on July 7. Mr Donohoe is going for a third term as president, but two challengers emerged for the position just before the deadline last Friday.
Spanish economy minister Carlos Cuerpo and Lithuanian finance minister Rimantas Šadžius are the two in the frame.
The Central Bank will also release statistics today on private household credit and deposits, while the Central Statistics Office will have figures on inbound tourism for May. It will be fascinating to see if this set of figures is a continuation of the downward trend for 2025 the CSO has been reporting. This has bemused the tourism industry, which says the statistics do not reflect the steady level of business they see on the ground.
In fact, tourism industry practitioners have met with the CSO to discuss precisely how the data is gathered.
On Wednesday, the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) will be publishing its annual report, plus mid-year results for 2025. The launch will be attended by Enterprise Minister Peter Burke, as well as IDA chief executive Michael Lohan, and chairman Feargal O’Rourke. It will be interesting to hear from all three about what measurable impact tariffs have been having on foreign direct investment.