Poor information and murky bidding are depressing the number of homes sold in the Republic, Barry O’Halloran reports. In a new report, property website MyHome, which is owned by The Irish Times, and Bank of Ireland blame the Republic’s opaque system for buying and selling homes for the low number of properties coming to market.
Meanwhile, new research from the Economic & Social Research Institute indicates Northern Ireland’s economy has continued to underperform the Republic’s in key areas like national and household income, but it is growing at a faster pace than the United Kingdom.
Speaking of Britain’s economic woes, John FitzGerald writes in his latest column that Rachel Reeves’s late November budget made the classic mistake for a relatively new government of postponing difficult decisions to later in its term of office.
Stena Line wants to be able to sign much longer port contracts in Dublin, the ferry company’s chief Niclas Mårtensson tells Colin Gleeson. “If I invest in a ship, it will be there for 40 years,” he says. “Therefore, I need to have a reflection in the port contract that there is a willingness to have us there for 40 years. Otherwise, I am jeopardising.”
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Apologies, or the lack of them, are another baffling aspect of office manners, writes Pilita Clarke in her latest column for the FT. How is it that outwardly sensible adults can consistently sail into meetings 15 minutes late, or bury themselves in their phones in the middle of a one-on-one meeting, with no word of apology or explanation?
Vodafone Ireland and Atlantic Technological University have won €4.6 million from the European Union to develop digital training for engineering and construction apprentices in the west of Ireland. Barry O’Halloran has the story.
And finally, a concerned parent asks Dominic Coyle about the tax implications of their adult child living rent-free in their second home.
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