On this week’s episode of Inside Business, host Ciarán Hancock speaks with Bank of Ireland chief economist Conall MacCoille about their latest economic bulletin. It shows that almost 40 per cent of Irish housing transactions are now settled at a minimum 10 per cent premium above the original asking price, something  Bank of Ireland puts down to “the intense competition for homes”. Conall Mac Coille is author of the bulletin, and while he points to lack of supply and wage growth as factors driving house price inflation, he notes that we might be experiencing a peak at the moment. He also gives his thoughts ahead of next week’s budget and whether Ireland is insulated from the economic woes affecting Britain, Germany and the wider EU bloc. Also on this episode, we hear from HR expert Louisa Meehan about return to the office trends in the wake of Amazon’s recent decision to order staff back to the workplace five days a week. Is that likely to become a trend here? And is working from home potentially detrimental for younger employees at the outset of their careers? Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.