Budget 2022, new KPMG jobs and how to prevent electricity blackouts

Economic growth figures are being upgraded to include a huge 15.6 per cent expansion in GDP, but don't expect this to translate into a bigger Budget 2022 package. Cliff Taylor reports that the two Ministers who will present the budget insisted on Thursday that no extra funds would be allocated for the package, despite the improved outlook and its favourable impact on the public finances.

Professional services firm KPMG is to create 350 jobs in the next year, expanding its digital technology practice as it invests in a new global innovation hub in Dublin's IFSC. Ciara O'Brien has that story, writing that the move comes in response to client demand.

The Republic's "very high" level of restructured mortgages where holders stick to the new terms on their loans is helped by the fact that they face face steeper monthly costs in rent if they lose their homes, according to a US credit ratings agency. Joe Brennan has more.

In our Agenda long read, Barry O'Halloran looks behind blackout warnings and asks what's really going on in the energy market? He considers the potential solutions to electricity shortages that could occur in the future and asks to what extent they might be viable, particularly in the context of the State's climate change goals.

When business partners fall out over who should take credit for past success

---

Firing up gas investment would help keep the lights on

---

High rents ‘motivate’ restructured borrowers to repay, KBRA says

---

Long road from investment banking to selling knitting designs

---

Separately, he reports on warnings that Government licensing delays threaten the State's ability to hit renewable energy targets.

John FitzGerald also takes on energy in his weekly economics column, arguing that a failure to invest in gas buffer capacity has left our electricity supply vulnerable when things go wrong.

The annual Irish Times Innovation Awards are kicking off, with enterprising individuals and companies across Ireland encouraged to enter. The awards, now in their 12th year, are designed to recognise and reward disrupters from across the island and from every sector of business.

In our Work section, Olive Keogh takes on the subject of luring skilled women back to the workforce after a period outside it. "We find that the biggest barrier to return is not ability. It's confidence," says one professional involved in an initiative aimed at bringing woman back into the ICT world.

Sarah O'Connor looks at the logistics crisis that engulfed Britain this week, as a shortage of HGV drivers led to blockages across several sectors, most notably fuel. She says the problems were not inevitable, but rather the result of the British government seeking to have its cake and eat it too.

This week's Wild Goose, is New York state-based Jennifer Shiels Toland, who tells Barbara McCarthy about life as a knitwear guru, her third career to date. The Dublin native recalls starting out with a craft stall at Airfield market in the capital.

Stay up to date with all our business news: sign up to our business news alerts and our Business Today daily email news digest.