🚗 EVs finally take the lead as Dublin courts capital 🏙️

Good morning. Electric cars have finally take the top spot, Dublin is turning to private capital, and stronger SME activity is not yet translating into broad hiring. Public pay, insurance costs and another market rally built on hopes of a Hormuz deal complete the picture. Let’s get into it.

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1. Electric Cars Take The Lead. Battery-electric vehicles became Ireland’s most popular new-car type in July, accounting for 26.1% of registrations. The 9,682 EVs registered during the month represented a 98% annual increase, while year-to-date sales are up 61%. Government supports have moved the market; charging capacity, used-car supply and whether those incentives survive Budget 2027 now have to keep pace.

2. Dublin Regeneration Turns To Private Capital. The planned Dublin City Development Company will be tasked with attracting private investment into the city centre, alongside public funding and measures such as the Living City Initiative and Derelict Property Tax. Its first job will be a ten-year strategy targeting vacancy and dereliction. The structure is still being established, but Dublin’s renewal effort is finally working from recommendations towards an implementation body.

3. SME Confidence Rises But Hiring Does Not. Forty-six per cent of surveyed Irish SMEs reported stronger second-quarter activity than a year earlier, up from 30% in the first quarter. However, only 11% increased staff numbers, while 46% raised prices as cost pressures returned. Yesterday’s manufacturing data showed faster recruitment in factories; the wider domestic economy looks more cautious, with growth being absorbed through prices before payrolls.

4. Fórsa Puts Public Pay To A Ballot. Fórsa is balloting public-sector members on industrial action after the previous pay agreement expired without a basis for successor talks. A vote does not mean disruption has been approved, but it moves the dispute from warnings into a formal employee decision. The result will test whether the Government can reopen negotiations before pay pressure becomes a service-delivery problem.

5. Insurance Savings Stop Before The Premium. Compensation in most employers’ and public-liability claims was 17% lower in early 2025 than in 2020, while claim volumes remain well below pre-pandemic levels. Yet average business package premiums rose 23% between 2020 and 2024, according to Central Bank figures cited by the Alliance for Insurance Reform. Claims reform reduced costs, but businesses are still waiting for the promised dividend.

US and European stocks rose as Brent crude fell below $79, with investors responding to signs that Washington and Tehran could reach an agreement on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, although Iran had not confirmed progress. Twenty-five US states have filed a legal challenge against President Trump’s latest global tariffs, arguing that the administration improperly replaced duties previously struck down by the Supreme Court. US job openings fell from 7.54 million to 7.36 million in June, even as hiring picked up. McDonald’s US sales rose just 0.8%, missing forecasts as lower-income customers cut back. In Europe, Bayer shares gained after stronger quarterly operating profit. Markets appear to be buying diplomatic hope, but consumers and courts are still supplying the doubt.

Finance & Markets

Markets are rewarding signs of relief, but the money underneath is still being committed for the long term.

US and European equities rose on Tuesday as Brent crude fell below $79, with investors reacting to suggestions that Washington and Tehran could reach an agreement on reopening the Strait of Hormuz. No agreement had been confirmed, but the move supported airlines and technology stocks while pushing the S&P 500 to a record high. The immediate Irish exposure is straightforward because cheaper oil helps transport, aviation, and input costs, although the week has already shown how quickly that picture can reverse.

Irish markets were steadier. The ISEQ rose 0.6%, helped by Kingspan, Kerry Group and Ryanair, while AIB and Bank of Ireland finished lower. Bank of Ireland’s stronger first-half profit and PTSB shareholders’ approval of BAWAG’s takeover offer show two sides of the domestic banking market with healthy earnings and continued consolidation. The next questions are whether stronger bank profitability reaches customers through deposit rates, lending prices or capital returns, and how BAWAG would change competition if the acquisition completes.

Elsewhere, financing continues to follow scale. AbbVie is reportedly seeking at least $8bn through a bond offering to fund part of its agreed $10.9bn acquisition of Apogee Therapeutics. Anthropic has reportedly signed a six-year, $10bn computing agreement with cloud infrastructure company Volta, while Polymarket is said to be seeking new funding at a valuation above $20bn.

Falling oil may be giving markets a cleaner morning, but companies are still locking in expensive bets on drugs, data centres and private-market growth. The immediate watch is whether a Hormuz agreement is actually secured, rather than merely priced in.

In Thursday’s Tá, the Sector Spotlight will be Health & Pharma.

Wednesday - By The Numbers

€33.2bn: The value of Irish M&A deals struck in the first half of 2026, almost tripling from €11.4bn a year earlier despite deal volume falling 17% to 237 transactions, according to William Fry's half-year review.

€5.9bn: Dubai Aerospace Enterprise's acquisition of Macquarie AirFinance, the second-largest Irish deal of the half-year and a further step in consolidation across the State's aircraft-leasing sector.

6%: The year-on-year rise in CRH's second-quarter revenue to $10.8bn, a result the Irish-headquartered, US-listed group paired with an agreed $8.5bn deal to acquire American aggregates firm Arcosa.

3.2bn: The number of cans and bottles returned through Ireland's Deposit Return Scheme since its 2024 launch, a milestone Re-turn says has come alongside a 55% cut in bottle and can litter.

61%: The share of Irish M&A transactions in H1 2026 involving overseas bidders, worth €31.6bn, underscoring how far the market's scale has come to depend on inbound foreign investment.

The Business Post have an interesting review on Samsung’s new €2,259 foldable which is being sold as a pocket workstation, complete with room for emails, calendars, PDFs and spreadsheets. The review still concedes that serious spreadsheet work requires a laptop, which is comforting for anyone worried their phone was about to become their manager. At that price, though, it may be the first handset that needs its own capital-expenditure approval.

The Read – Business Post (Requires Free Account) - Why Ireland Is Set To Become A Hotspot For Data Centre Lawsuits

Ireland’s data-centre debate is moving from electricity demand into the courts. The Business Post examines an LSE report predicting greater litigation around energy use, climate obligations and planning decisions, alongside existing challenges involving the CRU and proposed fossil-fuel generation. It is useful because it shows how grid policy is becoming a legal and investment risk, not merely an energy constraint. Developers, planners, regulators and professional advisers will increasingly have to account for climate law before projects reach construction. The Link: Why Ireland Is Set To Become A Hotspot For Data Centre Lawsuits  

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