The Central Bank is going ahead with a plan to set a borrowing limit for Irish property funds, even though it has eased the terms of the planned cap and extended the implementation period for the measure. Joe Brennan has more details, explaining that existing funds will have five years to comply.
Joe also reports on comments from the Central Bank governor, Gabriel Makhlouf where he describes the slew of job losses in the tech sector over recent weeks as a “pause”. Meanwhile, new figures from the Central Statistics Office show employment in the economy has risen by 650,000 since 2012. Eoin Burke-Kennedy has more on that.
Dominic Coyle explores the latest figures from the Residential Tenancies Board, which show new tenants are paying an average rent of €1,464 per month, or €17,568 per year.
O’Flaherty Holdings, the family-owned motor group that distributes Mercedes-Benz cars in Ireland, repaid €800,000 in Covid subsidies to the State last year after a surge in its sales and profits, writes Mark Paul. The company did not repay the almost €1.8 million of subsidies it received in 2020, when it also paid a similar-sized dividend to the O’Flaherty family via a holding entity in the Isle of Man.
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Mater Private Network, the private hospitals group that owns its eponymous Dublin flagship facility, recorded higher operating profits last year while also boosting sales by 18 per cent to €291.6 million. It warned, however, that it remains a “challenge” to convince private health insurers to “reimburse at a level that recognises the significant cost pressures in the sector”. Mark also has that story.
Laura Slattery reports on the latest figures for the group behind The Irish Times, which show an operating profit of €2.9 million in 2021 before exceptional items and the repayment of Covid subsidies, down from €5.4 million in 2020.
The company that operates the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre in Dublin’s south docklands recorded an increase in revenue and reduced losses last year as Covid-19 restrictions were eased and the venue was able to return to hosting full capacity shows. Ciarán Hancock has more on that.
As the Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe eyes his imminent job swap with the Minister for Public Expenditure, Michael McGrath, what will he do with the review of Irish retail banking that recently landed on his desk? Joe Brennan wonders if the report commissioned by Mr Donohoe to look at issues such as banker pay caps and access to cash will become another dust collector.
John FitzGerald reflects sombrely on the outcome of the Cop17 summit, suggesting we must now hope for the best but prepare for the worst on climate change. The potential consequences of the global temperature rising by two degrees are devastating if we fail to plan ahead now, he writes.
Separately, we look at Saudi Arabia’s plan to keep oil at the centre of the global economy.
In our Work section, Olive Keogh profiles Donal Morris of RedZinc, an entrepreneur who personifies perseverance and willingness to adapt. Brooke Masters meanwhile offers some advice on how not to fire people.
And finally, Simon Kuper reflects on his many experiences of attending World Cups all over the globe, concluding that Doha could be anywhere. The best place to watch the matches, he writes, is with friends in the world’s living rooms and cafés.
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