Topping the table on fuel taxes and young people’s irritating knack of being right

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Colorful petrol pumps.
Fuels for Ireland wants a full review of taxes on fuels before any more carbon charges are added. Photograph: Agency Stock

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Ireland will have the highest taxes on diesel and among the highest on petrol across the European Union if it persists with its plans for Budget 2025, an industry group has warned, penalising motorists and haulier. Ian Curran writes that Fuels for Ireland wants a full review of taxes on fuels before any more carbon charges are added.

The most annoying thing about young people in the workplace, writes Pilita Clark, is that they are often right, especially when it comes to work/life balance in an era of smartphones and easy accessibility for bosses.

Former IDA Ireland chief executive Martin Shanahan sees trouble brewing for Ireland Inc. Multinationals, he says, are frustrated with the slow response in addressing infrastructure shortfalls in areas like housing, energy, water and transport. “These issues will continue to make it difficult to attract investment, if not addressed more quickly,” he says in Opinion piece, adding: “Competitively priced utilities and infrastructure are entry-level requirements for investors.”

And in his column, Eoin Burke-Kennedy takes issue with the growing list of terms and phrases are now on the linguistic naughty step because they are thought to offend certain groups or individuals even where it is far from obvious that offence is being taken.

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Back to more serious matters, Ireland is at the centre of a critical supply chain to treat children with a devastating and often fatal inherited condition. Upstaza may be manufactured in the US but the teams organising how to get it to patients in time and without the temperature rising above minus 65 degrees are based in Ireland.

Elsewhere, Dyson sold €45.4 million of its products in Ireland in 2022, according to figures just filed with Companies Office. The increase came as the company agreed a deal to sell its products on eBay’s Irish marketplace, allowing customers in the Republic to buy refurbished and returned Dyson products at reduced prices.

Readers might be less cheered by Apcoa’s return to “normalised” pre-Covid business with an increase in clamping and commuter traffic boosting profits at car parks business Apcoa by 15 per cent last year.

Finally, Nicky Blake Knox says holiday’s are her most extravagant purchases. Just as well for the commercial director of Conrad Dublin that her job comes with travel benefits, including staff rates at hotels across the globe that she happily takes advantage of.

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