Pension auto enrolment, Russian cyber attacks, and Kirsty Wark on leaving Newsnight

The best news, analysis and comment from The Irish Times business desk


The Department of Social Protection plans to this month launch its official search for a company to build and run the €150 million system for its landmark auto-enrolment pension scheme, according to a Department spokesman. Joe Brennan has the details.

Sticking with the same topic, Joe Brennan tells the story about how auto enrolment has been delayed and delayed over more than 15 years, and gets the industry view on whether it will ever actually see the light of day.

In his column, John Burns explores the Government’s pitch to win the new EU anti money laundering agency, Ibec’s sponsorship of the political podcast co-hosted by former Tory MP Rory Stewart and ex Labour Party spindoctor Alastair Campbell, a Nama land deal in Dublin’s docklands, and Digicel’s ambition for its pay TV sports channel in the Caribbean.

Our Interview of the Week is Bryan Murphy, the outsider that Fanagans, Ireland’s largest funeral directors, chose to lead the sixth-generation family company as it seeks to grow its market share.

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BBC Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark was the star turn at the Gloss gala event this week. Afterwards, she sat down with Laura Slattery and talked about why Margaret Thatcher didn’t want to be interviewed by her, the ever changing media landscape, BBC cutbacks and her decision to leave Newsnight after 30 years.

Ukraine has become the testing ground for a drastic new form of hybrid warfare that combines intense cyberattacks with more conventional combat, according to Viktor Zhora, who oversees Ukraine’s cyber defences and protections on critical information infrastructure. Karlin Lillington reports.

After weeks of controversy, Web Summit’s new chief executive Katherine Maher successfully navigated the company’s flagship tech conference in Lisbon this week. But what’s her plan for the company now? Ciara O’Brien sat down with Maher to discuss what comes next.

The Irish Times Business Person of the Month for October, in association with Bank of Ireland, is Dermot Crowley, chief executive of Dalata Hotels Group.

National income tells us very little about our quality of life, according to our columnist John FitzGerald.

Indexing the cap on pension tax relief would resolve difficulties for Government in recruiting people to senior posts in the public service and the Garda, an industry body representing insurance brokers has said. Dominic Coyle reports.

The Irish arm of online recruitment platform Indeed saw its turnover and profit rise in 2022 but the company has also warned that the number of jobs postings on the site has slowed, with job openings and annual wage growth falling or slowing from the highs set in early 2022. Ciara O’Brien reports.

Workers’ entitlement to paid sick leave will rise to five days a year in January, the Government has confirmed. At present, employees are permitted to take three paid days for illness. Dominic Coyle has the details.

In our work feature, Olive Keogh reminds candidates that job interviews are a two-way street.

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