The Central Statistics Office on November 13th released the consumer price index for this year, which shows a 2.9% increase in the inflation rate over the last 12 months, which is the fastest and highest rise of inflation since March of 2024.
The increase will affect the prices of food items such as dairy and pastries. The price of poultry and meat increased by 6.6% which will affect the price of viands such as Chicken, beef, and turkey.
Meat prices at dunnes – Photo By: Synoah Penaflorida
Aside from household staples, an increase of 7.7% in health insurance, 3.7% in electricity, and 3.6% in rent was reported in the current figures.
Going around Dublin city centre, TheCity asked a few people how much they will be spending this Christmas.
Economist, Dr. Clare O’Mahony, will also be commenting on the hiking prices this holiday season.
A rise in bird flu in turkey farms has caused worry. The farming and poultry communities are under pressure and are facing an array of questions from the public ahead of the Christmas season.
People are worried about having turkey on their plate for their Christmas dinner. The City looked into the ongoing issue.
The festive market, located in Smithfield Square, opened its doors on November 28th and will run until January 4th.
The hustle and bustle of the market really only begins after dark. With big crowds walking through the little square.
The Christmas Market is in partnership with Dublin City Council.
As you take a stroll through the Market, you will be met with lots of festive activities. The Market offers ice-skating, Santa Panto, an Ice rink, a Spiegeltent, a Ferris wheel, plenty of food and drinks, and of course, small gift stores alongside the chaos.
Click here to begin a walk through starting at the entrance of the market and guiding you through the bustling crowds.
TheCity.ie asks residents of Dublin City Centre about the atmosphere created by the Christmas lighting and asks whether the government is doing enough to keep electricity bills low for the holiday season.
With shining Christmas lights across Dublin City Centre and colourful projections illuminating 16 City Centre locations, Christmas is just around the corner.
While many people are revelling in Christmas, which is widely regarded as the season of giving and spending time with loved ones, there are volunteers for people who are sleeping rough on the streets, not just on Christmas day.
As the number of people who are at the risk of homeless or at risk of homelessness has increased due to the cost of living crisis in Dublin, Dublin Simon Community provides essential services for those who need support.
The Christmas lights on Grafton Street have been switched on. Photo by Injae Kang
“The number of elderly people experiencing homelessness in Dublin has increased by 28 per cent in the last 12 months. A record-breaking number of people will spend this Christmas in homelessness”, Roisin Coulter who is a community and events manager at Dublin Simon Community said.
“As housing supply remains at an all-time low, these people will have no indication of how many more Christmases will be spent this way. Several more will spend their Christmas at home in fear that it may be their last as the cost-of-living crisis pushes more and more people below the breadline”, she said.
Number of People Homeless in Ireland. Source by Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government
With over 200 volunteers, choirs, and artists who give up their time during the Christmas days, Dublin Simon Community will plan to hold upcoming Christmas events for the purpose of raising much-needed funds for those most vulnerable in Irish society who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
The Sing For Simon event will take place on the 8th of December in the Powerscourt Townhouse Centre. Wild Youth, the Lucan Gospel Choir, Curtis Walsh, and others will be performing and showing their support for the event.
Dublin Simon Community will also have a ‘Carolathon’ event, which is 24 hours of carolling on the streets of Dublin. Where Choirs will come together in a relay to raise vital funds for the events and services.
Also, its Christmas events will round off with its traditional Christmas Eve Busk outside the Gaiety Theatre. In the busk, “For over 10 years, some of Ireland’s favourite artists have come down to show their support and raise vital funds for our work”, she said.
Students from Trinity and UCD founded the Dublin Simon Community in 1969 to provide soup and sandwiches to people sleeping rough in the City Centre.
“Dublin Simon works to prevent and address homelessness in Dublin, Kildare, Wicklow, Meath, Louth, Cavan and Monaghan. We provide services at all stages of homelessness and enable people to move to a place they can call home”, she said.
In addition to the Christmas events, Dublin Simon Community provides a variety of services for those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. A variety of services are provided, including emergency accommodation, soup runs, health care, and treatment.
She spoke about one of the charity events provided by the organization: “Next year will mark the 40th year of what was the Fun Run but is now the Home Run. Home Run is a fun and challenging, five-mile race through our capital’s beautiful Phoenix Park on the first Saturday in October.
“This is more than just a run. Each year members of the public, the business community, students, teachers, Simon staff, volunteers and clients all take part in this fantastic event. They run, walk or jog through the park; coming together as a community to challenge themselves and show their support for those living through the nightmare of homelessness.”
Supporting local has never been more important, with an increasing number of small businesses feeling the strain of the current cost of living crisis. TheCity.ie has created a guide to markets happening all over Dublin.
Munya Market is an up-and-coming late-night market, which takes place in Fegans 1924 on Chancery St. Dublin 7. The late-night market is one of Irelands firsts and started in June this year by Oran Lapettina.
Every Thursday and Saturday from 6pm-10pm, the café consists of stalls selling Jewellery, photo prints, crochet pieces and preloved clothes. Flash tattoos from tattoo artists such as big smoke ink, are also available from €30. The market also hosts open mic and hip hop nights for you to enjoy while browsing the stalls.
Speaking to Olivia Grimes, a student from Maynooth, she described how helpful the market has been for buying and selling clothes at reasonable prices. “I’ve rented a stall at the market before, and it’s really helped me make and save some money as a student”. She added, “it almost feels like a real life Depop, and there’s always a good atmosphere on the night”.
Munya Market have recently began collaborating with The Soundhouse Dublin, to host an extended late-night market. The event is free entry all night and celebrates local talent from tattoo artists to crochet designers. It’s a whole venue takeover, with local DJs playing until 2:30am. Dates for future Soundhouse collaborations can be found on Munya Market’s Instagram.
If you’re on the hunt for a good Flea Market somewhere in Dublin, The Useless Project, hosts a monthly market in The Workman’s Club located near Temple Bar. The founders, Geraldine Carton and Taz Kelleher, have announced they’ll be hosting a Christmas market on the 18th of December.
They stated on their Instagram it’s their biggest flea market yet, with over 50 stalls taking over three floors. Vintage fashion, candles, homeware, crafts, and prints will be found throughout the market, all sustainably sourced and made. Combined with complimentary drinks and music.
The Alternative, a Dublin based cultural hub, are also hosting a Dublin Christmas Flea Market in The Grand Social, on Liffey Street. The market will be taking place from Saturday the 10th of December to Sunday the 11th of December. From 11am to 4pm, the market will consist of 25+ stalls selling fashion, art, and some fun Christmas décor across all four rooms. The venue is expecting a large turn out so to guarantee entry, event tickets can be found here, free of charge.
WeloveMarkets is also hosting their annual Dandelion Christmas Markets, every Sunday from the 13th of November to the 19th of December in the Well located near Grafton St. If you’re looking to support local businesses this Christmas pop down between 12pm to 5pm for unique, personal, and handmade gifts with over 60 stalls across the whole venue.
Jewellery and accessories all handcrafted by Ciarna Pham are available at her own stall, ‘KIKI NA ART’ at this market. Ciarna specialises in hand painted earrings and necklaces of iconic public figures such as David Bowie, Kate Bush and many more.
According to her website, “I studied fine art painting and also love photography, so I wanted to find a way to mix my love for fashion, art and photography in a way that was funky and wearable.”
She added, “I always liked the idea of people wearing religious icons around their neck, however I am not religious myself, so I decided to work on the idea of modern icons.”
If you can’t make these dates, The Liberty Market takes places weekly in Dublin 8 from 9:30am to 4:30pm every Thursday through to Saturday. It’s one of Irelands’ longest running markets, selling freshly made pastries, cakes, and other sweet treats.
If you’re shopping on a budget this Christmas, the market is an ideal alternative to higher end retail shops, offering low prices and great bargains.
On The Liberty Market website they stated, “we work on tiny profit margins (a fraction of your average shop). We have vastly reduced overheads compared to average shops and the overheads which do apply are shared amongst all the traders”.
They added, “we simply have no time for overcharging customers.”
If you can’t find what you’re after there, you can always pop down to the Ha’penny market which takes place every Saturday from 12pm to 6pm. With no market the same as they rotate stall holders each week.
With an abundance of markets to choose from you’ll have no trouble finding the perfect Christmas gifts, that won’t break your bank account, whilst also supporting Irish local businesses.
Reporters Shay Galon, Leigha O’Reilly Hughes and Jane Byrne all take to the streets of Dublin to ask people about their Christmas wishes and the best spots to be in at this festive time of year!
Samuel Beckett Bridge, photo credit: Conor McCabe
After a long year and the beginning of a cold winter, Dublin lights up to get everyone in the Christmas mood.
Dublin City Council returns with their very popular ‘Dublin winter lights.’ The lights were first switched on, on November 15th and will stay on until January 1st. Twenty one locations, which is an increase of five from last year have been transformed with colourful projections and light displays. Two locations, one on the Southside and the other on the Northside are walking trails that bring the public across Dublin in the most Christmassy way. A team of over sixty people work hard every year to deliver the winter lights.
The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Alison Gilliand welcomes the Christmas lights back. “I’ve been a huge fan of ‘Dublin Winter Lights’ ever since it began in 2018. The contrast between the bright lights and the dark evenings makes for a stunning backdrop to the city.”
Custom House – Photo credit: Conor McCabe
In an effort to cut down on CO2 emissions Dublin City Council announced that no diesel generators were used this year. Instead, where main power was not accessible, they used Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil which is made from 100% renewable waste materials and results in an up to 90% reduction in CO2 emissions. Furthermore, they recycle all materials and branding from year to year and store all lighting in wooden crates instead of single use plastics.
A new location that was added this year and is proving very popular is the light installations at Merrion Square park. So much so that six new dates have been added allowing the light show to run every day up until December 22nd.
The park has been transformed into a magical winter walk with light installations, a 15m high Christmas tree in the heart of the park projected with magical images, a virtual snowstorm and dancing penguins and polar bears. At the end, children are seen begging their parents for a nutella crèpe whilst adults can enjoy a mulled wine under the lights. Although tickets are free, due to limited numbers you are asked to book your free ticket online before attending.
Other locations garnering spectacular sights include, Trinity College, Grafton Street, City Hall, Millennium Bridge and the Samuel Beckett Bridge among others.
Btec GPO, photo credit: Conor McCabe
New restrictions on nightclubs, the hospitality sector and vaccine requirements mean that we will be looking at a Covid Christmas for the second year in a row. However, a free walk around the Christmas lights in Dublin City is sure to lift the spirits. In the video attached, we talked to the people of Dublin and gave you a look around the winter lights to get you in the Christmas mood.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the Covid-19 pandemic will likely drag on into 2022 and could last even longer
Image via Jernej Furmen, Flickr
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently warned that the Covid-19 pandemic will most likely drag on into next year, due to the lack of vaccinations across the world, particularly in poorer countries. Dr. Bruce Awlward, a senior leader at the WHO said: “I can tell you that we are not on track. We really need to speed it up, or you know what? This pandemic is going to go on for a year longer than it needs to.”
The biggest headache for the WHO, is that a huge problem has arisen around the uneven distribution of vaccines around the world. In addition, the low rate of vaccinations in low-income countries as opposed to high-income countries, is setting alarm bells ringing at world health headquarters. High income countries like Ireland and the UK are ideally supposed to be donating to poorer states and have pledged a total of Euros 100 million, but have, so far, delivered only Euros 10 million.
Emerging from the pandemic, is not only vital for people’s general health and well-being, but also, to the economy and those sectors that were hard-hit when restrictions to curb the spread of the virus were originally introduced. One of the main reasons that the pandemic is still ongoing, is that less economically developed countries with high populations, are lagging behind in the rolling-out of their vaccine programs. Some experts argue that without mass vaccinations across the globe, the virus will mutate to the point where the original vaccinations become obsolete, although this is typically difficult to predict.
The “covax pool” was meant to counter-act this scenario and ensure that any countries who could not afford the vaccines, still had access to them, through subsidized costs. However, some countries like the UK and Canada have used the pool to acquire their own vaccines, despite having their own contacts with major pharmaceutical companies. One stark statistic outlines the scale of the vaccination roll-out inequality – under 3% of the entire population of Africa has been fully vaccinated.
In recent months, many observers in both Ireland and the UK have promulgated that the pandemic might be coming to an end. Bars, restaurants and cafes have re-opened with the vaccination program almost complete. Nights out and recreational activities have felt like pre-pandemic times. More than 92% of Ireland’s adult population has been fully vaccinated, while 93% of the population over age 16, have received at least one dose. But with cases now on the rise again (4,607 new cases confirmed, 579 people in hospital and 115 in ICU), the problem at home has risen to the point where some health experts are advising that the government re-impose some of the restrictions that we experienced earlier in the year.
Covid-19 cases have the potential to overwhelm the HSE and so prevent patients with other medical conditions receiving the care that they need. With the emergence of the very recent Omicron variant of the virus, the overall picture has become far more complex. The Irish government could be forced into its contingency plan for winter that would re-introduce some measures, such as social distancing, mask-wearing and asking people to work from home. The re-enforcing of Covid passports in a number of hospitality settings is also, very much, on the cards. It would be a major setback for many businesses, recovering from the pandemic, particularly those most impacted, such as the hospitality and air travel sectors.
Mike Ryan, a director of the WHO, has warned that this pandemic has the potential to overwhelm health systems throughout the world. “It is a tragedy. We still have doctors and nurses in frontline situations in low-income countries, who are not protected against Covid-19.” Speaking as part of a virtual conversation with Professor Michael Kerin, chair of surgery at NUIG, he was very critical of the uneven distribution of vaccines between developed and developing countries. “What we need to be able to do is not run our health system like a low-cost airline, at 120% occupancy, which we effectively do in many countries. I think that every country, including Ireland, is going to take a hard look at that scenario,” he added.
As the month-long festival returns, Eric Ryan captures some of the inner-city locations that have been lit up by festive projections.
For the third consecutive year, Dublin’s Winter Lights festival has returned to restore some much-needed brightness and festive cheer to the people of Dublin.
[The Custom House, North Dock, Dublin 1]
Marking the beginning of the Christmas season, the project organised by the Dublin City Council will be running from December 1st to January 1st and will project festive lights across 17 different locations.
The eco-friendly projections feature 157,800 LEDs, 15,780 metres of cable and 100 tonnes of equipment. Some of the lights that power the projections run on 80% of their traditional predecessors.
The projection that covers City Hall uses the same amount of electrical power as two dishwashers and the display at the Hugh Lane Gallery uses the equivalent of a vacuum cleaner.
[City Hall, Dame Street, Dublin 2]
[The Hugh Lane Gallery, Parnell Square North, Dublin 1]
This year’s festival has several new locations as well as new artworks from a range of artists. These locations include the Triumphal Arch at the CHQ, the Mater Hospital, Capital Dock, the Jeanie Johnston Tall Ship.
Perhaps the most imaginative and captivating piece of them all is the Samuel Beckett Bridge. Named ‘Keep on Moving’ it’s a four-minute dance routine by Richmond Barracks Over-55s Movement Group that captures themes of strength, resilience and fun.
[Samuel Beckett Bridge, North Wall Quay]
Smithfield’s display has been improved and will feature photos of frontline workers to commemorate their efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic and the projections at the Civic Offices plays a three minute shadow puppet animation.
The Dublin City Culture Company worked with community groups and artists to create the new displays. These groups include Croft Nursing Home, Hollybrook Nursing Home and Henrietta Street Adult & Community Education Service (HACE). They collaborated with artists Steve MacDevitt, Alan Dunne, Helen Barry, Ben Redmond and Aoife McAtamney.
[Civic Offices, Wood Quay, Dublin 8]
[The GPO, O’Connell Street, Dublin 1]
[The Mansion House, Dawson Street, Dublin 2]
[Parliament Street, Dublin 2]
[Trinity College Dublin, College Green, Dublin 2]
[Samuel Beckett Bridge, North Wall Quay]
Full list of projection locations:
The Custom House, North Dock, Dublin 1
The GPO, O’Connell Street, Dublin 1
The Hugh Lane Gallery, Parnell Square North, Dublin 1
The Mansion House, Dawson Street, Dublin 2
The Mansion House, Dawson Street, Dublin 2
Trinity College Dublin, College Green, Dublin 2
City Hall, Dame Street, Dublin 2
Covanta Dublin Waste to Energy Plant, Poolbeg, Dublin 4
Former Debenhams staff are urging people to #BoycottDebenhams when shopping online this Christmas. Róise Collins took to Twitter to see why it’s trending.
Taken by Eric Jones and licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Licence
Former Debenhams staff have launched a campaign urging shoppers to boycott the department store this Christmas. The workers have been on the picket line since the start of lockdown when Debenhams announced that their 11 stores would be going into liquidation – resulting in over 2,000 people losing their jobs. The workers have been disputing their redundancy terms with the liquidator, KPMG.
This week marked #222days of the workers picket line, and makes it one of the longest running pickets in the state.
Mick Barry TD raised this issue at the Dáil and pushed the Taoiseach for a solution. He explained why the workers are still picketing despite the cold weather or the fact that their in the midst of a lockdown – “liquidator’s KPMG refuse to give any guarantee that they will not attempt to move stock in level 5, the picket continues despite a High Court injunction and a threat of court summons’ and even jailings.
“These workers, overwhelmingly women, want to know, if you intend to intervene to resolve this dispute in time for them and their long suffering families to have a decent Christmas?” he said.
Mick Barry TD put the Taoiseach under pressure in relation to the Debenhams workers. After 7.5 months, the Taoiseach urgently needs to put forward a solution that provides for these workers and ensures they have a decent Christmas…#BoycottDebenhams#Day222pic.twitter.com/TvX9QP6ATX
Myself and @ThomasGouldSF out with the Debenhams workers at the Dáil today as they continue to protest for their rights and fair treatment pic.twitter.com/S3Im7hOi2L
Another popular tweet by @KarenCullinane1 said: “When shopping for presents this Christmas, please be mindful to boycott Denhams Online in solidarity with the Debenhams workers who have been on strike now for 222 days.”
[The GPO, O’Connell Street, Dublin 1]
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