Mintel survey says 'times is tough' 

 The Irish Times reports that 67 per cent of Irish consumers are now more mindful of rising living costs.

 

The Mintel Ireland survey, Irish

Now over US$127 per barrel 

As if we weren't bored hearing about oil prices, BBC News Online is reporting that the commodity is now over US$127 a barrel, an all-time high.

Oil prices have hit a record high above $127 a barrel on speculation that China will

Half of Ireland's construction companies have stopped building houses while they attempt to offload existing properties.

A report published today by Merrion Capital said that the current housing oversupply will take more than twelve months to clear up.

"The overall conclusion

Housing slump hurts construction kingpin

The Cavan-based Kingspan Group will see lowered earnings as a result of the construction slowdown.

The group, which includes Kingspan Century, Ireland's largest timber-frame building manufacturer issued a statement saying trading over the first four months of the

At US$125

The Irish Times reports that oil prices have stabilised at around US$125 this week while there has been a larger than expected inventory of stocks.

Meanwhile, today's Seattle Times is reporting 

But not in the fast lane

Construction down but finances up in Ireland of the future.

 The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has announced that the Irish economy could grow by 3.75 per cent annually over the next decade.

 

A report from the government-founded think tank says that, despite significant short-term problems, the economy

Prices for gas in the south and coal in the north both heading north

Heating bills are set to soar later this year after Bord Gáis confirmed it was seeking to increase prices by almost a fifth.

Next month the company will ask the Commission for Energy Regulation to allow an increase in consumer prices of up to nineteen

We're just journalists but…

 …now we're blogging.

As you can doubtlessly see, the Construct Ireland site has had a major revamp. Apart from the smart new design one new feature is the daily(ish) blog. Obviously we want your

In the absence of a methodology for air testing existing buildings coming from SEI, Brian Rochford of Colin Galavan & Associates Architects used the existing DEAP software for new homes to model the energy performance of his own home. Brian is a registered BER assessor, and used the software to test the various options he was considering to upgrade his house incrementally.

Right-wing swing to environmentalism

 

US senator and presidential candidate John McCain has called for mandatory caps on carbon emissions and is demanding that America reduces its emissions by, "at least 60 percent below 1990 levels by the year 2050."

The moves comes as the race for the White House in 2008 hots up.

As reported yesterday, McCain, has been expected to distance

No-one would use green doom-mongering to sell houses, would they?

 

Wired, in a report headlined 'Mock the apocalypse from a stylish new houseboat', suggests that potential house-buyers who are concerned about impending climate catastrophe should

Nuclear power for Ireland, the greening of Croker and falling construction.

Ireland should go nuclear in order to ensure energy security. So says William Nuttall from Cambridge University.

Speaking last night at the RDS in Dublin, during a talk called 'Nuclear Energy - why is it on the agenda?', Dr. Nuttall

Gas and electricity prices are due to rise sharply in the next year.

Barry O'Halloran at the Irish Times reports consumers will face rising energy costs as a result of increased wholesale costs to suppliers including ESB and Bord Gá

Homes of the future should generate the vast majority of the energy they use, but a small amount of near-site or off-site renewable generation

The number of government grants made to people in Britain who want install renewable energy systems to their homes has halved, reports the BBC. The fall comes after the low carbon buildings programme cut the maximum grant on offer from £7,500 to £2,500.

Figures seen by the BBC show that in 2007, 2,339 grants

The Irish Times reports that worms have an economic value of €700 million.

 

Putative president has  green belt.

Republican party candidate for president, John McCain, is to be greener than his predecessor and party-mate George

Oil prices over $125 with predictions of $200