Did you ever consider using an app on your phone to apply for a mortgage? Well, it may not be exactly that simple but Revolut’s pending arrival in the Irish home loan business does look like injecting some of the company’s flair for simplicity. App-applications, if you will, are to be supported by staff but Joe Heneghan, chief executive of Revolut Europe, tells Joe Brennan the process can certainly “be made a lot slicker”.
Airbnb has taken some flak here and abroad over its supposed impact on the availability of longer term rentals. Interestingly, a report from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) tempers these ideas, claiming it – and let’s not forget other actors in the short term lettings business – is not responsible for Ireland’s ongoing rental crisis. Eoin Burke-Kennedy looks at what is, according to the report, which does not entirely absolve Airbnb of responsibility.
Retail and hospitality is not the first corner of life one thinks of when considering defamation claims. But it is a problem. According to the Irish Small and Medium Enterprise Association (Isme), vexatious defamation claims against staff members – for example in alleging false shoplifting accusations – can cost up to €50 million a year. It has asked Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan for certain provisions in a forthcoming reform of the law.
In the latest housing report, new home completions have been shown to have risen marginally in the first quarter of this year. However, Government housing targets still look like being missed. Eoin Burke-Kennedy looks at the latest Central Statistics Office (CSO) data which shows 5,938 new dwelling were finished in January, February, and March, a rise of 2 per cent on the same period last year.
Could you imagine Ireland becoming the “Saudi Arabia of wind power”? It doesn’t seem that likely, according to Kevin O’Sullivan whose Agenda piece looks at not one, but two separate reports that seem to blow more cold than hot on any such notion. What does it all mean for our net zero ambitions?
What is the cost of Irish reunification? In his column, John FitzGerald looks at various studies examining the economy north and south. Given the unlikelihood of continued UK financial support in the aftermath of a reunified island, what would this new state of affairs mean in economic terms?
The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) has reported a significant rise in the number of discrimination cases taken against businesses on the grounds of race, membership of the Traveller community or sexual orientation. Emmet Malone reports on the details which found cases involving members of the Travelling community alone shot up 86 per cent last year.
Irish Marks & Spencer stores were affected by a “cyber incident” disabling contactless payments, which is ongoing, the store confirmed. Conor Pope explains how the incident had appeared close to resolution, only to get worse.
Remember those pandemic lockdowns? O’Donoghue’s, Dublin’s storied pub on Merrion Row certainly does – it lost serious money in 2021 and 2022 but now, its customers will be glad to hear, it has sprung back into healthy profitability. Hugh Dooley reports on the accounts.
Ardagh Group’s 76 per cent-owned Ardagh Metal Packaging (AMP) unit reported an 11 per cent growth in revenues in the first quarter to $1.27 billion (€1.12 billion), driven by a 6 per cent increase in sales volumes. The subsidiary’s sales and earnings guidance have been upgraded for the year. Joe Brennan looks at the numbers.
The Irish arm of pharma firm, Takeda last year took a profit hit after mothballing fresh manufacturing capacity at its Grange Castle site in Dublin. Gordon Deegan looks at new accounts that show a €37.2 million impairment charge on its tangible assets.
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