Fiona Reddan

Ireland

Business Journalist at Irish Times

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irishtimes.com

Articles

Fiona Reddan: Would you buy a house at a big discount if it came with a catch?

1 week ago | irishtimes.com | Fiona Reddan

Last year, Sherry Fitzgerald Reynolds put a house on the market in Donegal for €299,000. It’s a substantial six-bedroom multi-unit property in Letterkenny, and it comes with an adjoining three-bedroom townhouse and stationary mobile home. In need of refurbishment, it nonetheless offers “immense potential to a savvy purchaser”, according to the agent and is still on the market at a heavily discounted price. The catch? Someone is still living in the property and will be there until they die.
Approved retirement funds: What is an ARF and how much will it cost me?

1 week ago | irishtimes.com | Fiona Reddan

It’s the pension drawdown product that more and more of us are opting for and, yet, getting a fix on how much this product is going to cost us can confuse. While shopping around can help with cutting costs when it comes to an approved retirement fund (ARF), you need to understand just what you have to pay for and how different options work, before you can make the best decision for you. What is an ARF?
New unemployment benefit is up to €450 a week - but will you pay tax on it?

2 weeks ago | irishtimes.com | Fiona Reddan

It may be a terrible shock – or a welcome offer – but whether your redundancy is voluntary or otherwise, working out the sums of the package on offer is always going to be critical. Thankfully, those sums have just got a little bit more attractive thanks to a new initiative from Government.
Ireland’s remote islands: Only 29 apply for €84,000 grant aimed at attracting residents

3 weeks ago | irishtimes.com | Fiona Reddan

It attracted global attention when it launched in the summer of 2023, with news outlets such as CNN and Euronews reporting that Ireland’s “gorgeous islands” were going to “pay” new residents $90,000/€80,000 to move there through the Our Living Islands scheme. Australia’s news.com said expats were being offered $140,000 to “pack up and relax into remote island life”, while the Miami Herald told its readers they could “earn” $90,000 by moving to one of Ireland’s remote islands.
Half a million euro for a ‘moderate’ retirement? The lump sums you need to save

3 weeks ago | irishtimes.com | Fiona Reddan

How do you see your retirement? Maybe you would like to spend a couple of months of the year in the sun, eat out a few times a week and have enough spare cash not to worry about the costly problems life throws up from time to time. But have you considered just how much you will need to save to achieve this?
One in three Irish parents saving for their children, not themselves

1 month ago | irishtimes.com | Fiona Reddan

We’re saving more, investing more – and putting aside more of this money for the next generation. That is according to a new report from the Central Bank, which examines the reasons behind increased savings in Ireland since 2013.
Why is it so hard to buy a one-bed apartment in Ireland?

1 month ago | irishtimes.com | Fiona Reddan

As house prices continue to rise, and affordability takes a correlating knock, aspiring homebuyers are looking at all options for acquiring their own place. For some, this will mean a one-bed apartment, which, while tight on space, will still cost less in monthly repayments than rent on a similar property. According to figures from Daft.ie, a one-bed apartment in Dublin 2 will cost about €1,600 in monthly mortgage repayments – or €2,000 in rent.
I met my younger self for coffee - and this is the financial advice I gave them

1 month ago | irishtimes.com | Fiona Reddan

It’s the trend that’s blowing up on social media; but, while it’s all very charming telling your younger self how things mostly worked out better than expected, what about if we were to ask financial experts the same question? What would they advise younger people when it comes to making key financial decisions?
‘Like North Korea or Russia’: Investors have their say on Ireland’s tax regime

1 month ago | irishtimes.com | Fiona Reddan

Despite the arrival of low-cost, easy-access investing apps in Ireland, the current tax regime – which features deemed disposal, high tax and low capital gain tax-free thresholds – means that investing remains far more challenging than it ever should be. There is a certain irony in the fact that the Government recently launched a national strategy on financial literacy while having an investment taxation regime that makes applying this financial knowledge extremely difficult. Not only that.
Padel ball: Rooftop courts prove popular as developers look to appeal to a fitness-conscious cohort

1 month ago | irishtimes.com | Fiona Reddan

It’s the sport that’s taking Ireland by storm – so, how would you like to play it on a roof near you? With everyone from David Beckham to Cristiano Ronaldo and Serena Williams known to play the racket sport, the padel fad looks like it is only going to get bigger. It’s even being talked about as a game for the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane, Australia. About 30 million people worldwide are said to play padel.