Ryanair chief O’Leary calls for more departure gates at Dublin Airport to boost growth

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary wants State-owned DAA to build 10 to 20 new departure gates at Dublin Airport to cater for growth there, the Sunday Times reported.

The report said the airline chief executive maintains that the gates could be installed at hangar space next to Dublin’s terminal one, allowing Ryanair to exploit opportunities offered by the recently-built north runway.

The new departure gates could be linked to terminal one by a walkway. According to the Sunday Times, O’Leary argued that this would be better value than the DAA’s plan to build a tunnel costing €200 million, a proposal that Ryanair has repeatedly criticised.

O’Leary also suggested that a third terminal at Dublin Airport would be helpful as long as DAA did not run it. However, he conceded that it was hard to make an economic case for a new terminal.

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Food industry opposes plan to reveal profit margins

Food industry chiefs have slammed Government proposals to reveal profit margins in an effort to halt price gouging, according to the Business Post.

Supermarket chains have dubbed the Republic “Treasure Ireland” because of the high profits they can make here, according to the report, while food inflation was 17 per cent last month.

Charlie McConalogue, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, is moving ahead with new laws creating a food ombudsman with powers to enforce European Union unfair trading practices rules. Employers’ lobby Ibec voiced fears about the legislation last week at a meeting with the minister, who has agreed to a Sinn Féin amendment beefing up the regulator’s investigative powers.

Companies could face €10 million fines for failing to provide information to the regulator, while executives could be jailed for up to three years. Paul Kelly, director of Ibec’s Food Drink Ireland unit, claimed the move would undermine competitiveness.

New measures to tighten UK financial services regulation

Britain’s financial services regulator plans tough new measures to ensure that banks, insurers and lenders treat ordinary customers better, according to the Observer.

Banks, building societies, insurers, investment firms and many other businesses have been warned they must be ready for one of the biggest ever shake-ups of consumer finance in the UK, the Observer reported.

The Financial Conduct Authority will introduce its “consumer duty” from July 31st, demanding higher, clearer protection standards, which will explicitly require financial businesses to put customers’ needs first.

American chicken restaurant groups eye expansion in Ireland

North American chicken restaurants are hatching plans to open in the Republic, according to the Sunday Times.

Arkansas-based Slim Chickens and Canadian-owned Mary Brown’s Chicken are seeking space for outlets here, it said.

Slim Chickens, which has 225 outlets in the United States, UK and Kuwait, will open here through its partnership with British businessman Ranjit Boparan, while Mary Brown’s will go the franchise route, according to the report.