DAA ‘not in contention’ for Dublin Airport land as rivals table higher bids

Seen and Heard: Dublin Airport’s lucrative site, Varadkar wants EU billions for climate actions and the clampdown on remote working from abroad

DAA is “not the highest bidder” for the 260 acres of land situated between the runways at Dublin Airport that were recently put up for sale, according to the Sunday Business Post

One source close to the deal told the Business Post that DAA is now “not in contention” to buy the land, given other bids, while another source said the airport operator is “neither in nor out” at this stage but that its bid was not the highest.

The airport operator had previously speculated that it would be the only bidder for the 260-acre site, which could be worth as much as €210 million and would have strategic importance for a future third terminal or other developments at the airport. Kenny Jacobs, the DAA chief executive, said earlier this summer that it had no immediate plans for the land and may be the only bidder, but warned he would not pay “crazy prices”.

A source has said negotiations are ongoing over the sale of the land bank, with a number of parties still interested in the purchase of the site, and that some of the initial bids were “well in excess” of the asking price.

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Varadkar wants EU billions to pay farmers for climate actions

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar will push the EU to establish a new fund for farmers to restore nature which would likely be worth billions, but has said they must “listen to the science” on environmental issues, the Sunday Business Post reports.

It comes as Mr Varadkar and Eamon Ryan, the Green Party leader, both gave their views on a controversy which emerged last week when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was criticised for advising people to eat less red meat for climate and health reasons.

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The EPA deleted a tweet after a backlash from farming organisations. Both Varadkar and Ryan said it was sound scientific advice, but that farmers needed to be compensated for changes they make to their lands.

The issue of paying farmers to restore nature on agricultural lands exploded earlier in the summer when there was a Europe-wide pushback on the EU’s proposed Nature Restoration Law.

Revenue Commissioners’ new rules clamp down on remote working from abroad

Remote workers who spend chunks of the year in sunnier countries – a trend that accelerated during the pandemic – could find themselves caught by new rules from the Revenue Commissioners that tighten up the way Irish employers collect income tax and USC for non-resident employees, according to the Sunday Independent.

Virgin chief says potential €50m RTÉ bailout would ‘reward poor governance’

A large bailout for RTÉ would be rewarding poor governance and would distort the broadcasting market, the managing director of Virgin Media Television, Paul Farrell, has said, according to a report in the Sunday Independent.

Eoin Burke-Kennedy

Eoin Burke-Kennedy

Eoin Burke-Kennedy is Economics Correspondent of The Irish Times