Cost of social housing in Dublin, Kielty versus Rugby World Cup, and paying bequests when there isn’t enough cash

Local authorities in Dublin are paying private building contractors up to twice as much for social housing than some of their counterparts in other parts of the country, according to the Department of Housing’s own data. Eoin Burke-Kennedy has the data.

In our latest personal finance Q&A, a reader is concerned that there is not enough cash in their mother’s estate to pay the bequests stipulated in her will. Dominic Coyle offers some guidance.

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With the Rugby World Cup kicking off in September, the Late Late Show’s new host Patrick Kielty will have his work cut out to secure top ratings in his prime Friday night slot, writes Laura Slattery in her media and marketing column.

Six things you need to do before retirement

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Surprise! Bluey has become the Taylor Swift of children’s television

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AIB shareholder worries his holding may be too small for share buyback

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The Smurfits boost their investment in Kirby’s Tixserve

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Meta was hit with a record €1.2 billion fine by the Data Protection Commission yesterday but the size of the fine should not cloud the underlying issues around the enforcement of the EU’s GDPR rules on data privacy, writes Cantillon.

Consumer demand for new electric vehicles has increased by 35 per cent this year despite a rise in costs. A new report from Done Deals says the average cost of a new EV in 2023 has risen to €64,775, an increase of 13 per cent year-on-year. Nathan Johns reports.

Could government bonds offer a solution to low deposit rates? Fiona Reddan investigates in our personal finance feature.

Shares in Barryroe Offshore Energy and Lansdowne Oil & Gas each saw about half of their market value wiped away after Minister Eamon Ryan refused a permit to progress their oilfield off the Cork coast. Cantillon ponders how beef baron Larry Goodman (who has given Barryroe a €40 million financial backstop for the project) might now respond.

Cantillon also explains why Ryanair is set for take off, having yesterday announced that it returned to profit in the year to the end of March 2023.

In Me & My Money, Stuart Dempsey, founder and chief executive of GamerFest, tells Tony Clayton-Lea that he’s “fairly comfortable haggling” but do it just for “the sake of it”.

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