Seen and Heard: Public pensions to be on table in pay talks

Public sector pensions will be on the negotiating table as part of a new pay deal, Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe told the Sunday Business Post. In an interview with the newspaper, Mr Donohoe said any agreement would have to be affordable in the long term.

“As we move into 2017 and 2018 and beyond, it is already apparent that the value of public sector pensions has increased and the differential versus private sector [pensions] has widened. My department will be doing work on what is the future cost that will need to be met,” he said.

Tesla Motors, the electric carmaker headed by SpaceX founder Elon Musk, plans to open its first Irish sales outlet and showroom in Sandyford in south Co Dublin, the Sunday Times reports.

The Nasdaq-quoted group has sought permission to convert a unit in the Sandyford Industrial Estate into its flagship Irish premises, with display area, sales offices and repair centre. Tesla said it would then install supercharger stations in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Belfast that would allow owners of Tesla cars to charge their cars for free.

Shamrock Rovers living hand-to-mouth

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The major events happening in business this week

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The major events happening in business this week

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The major business events happening this week

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Short-term lettings

Minister for Housing

Simon Coveney

is setting up a cross-departmental working group to examine the impact of short-term lettings through

Airbnb

and other services on the rental market, according to the

Sunday Times

.

The body will comprise representatives from several Government departments as well as from public bodies and interest groups. It will examine how short-term lettings should be managed and regulated and report back by the end of June 2017.

Coveney’s department said it seemed “significant numbers of properties” were being taken out of the rental market and used for short-term lets, particularly in Dublin.

The new owner of Formula One, Liberty Media, is planning a clampdown on overspending by racing teams as part of an overhaul of the sport designed to make it more financially sustainable for smaller teams.

The Sunday Telegraph reports that Liberty Media, controlled by Irish-American billionaire John Malone, is developing plans to restrict the amount teams can spend, in the hope that it will reinvigorate competition on the track.

Previous attempts to introduce budget caps have triggered rebellions from the biggest teams, including a threat to form a breakaway championship.

The UK may need a transitional agreement to smooth its exit from the European Union, but it should not "buy back" into too many of the bloc's regulations, British trade minister Liam Fox told the BBC.

Separately, the Mail on Sunday reported Fox believes trade with Europe will be damaged by Brexit, but this will be outweighed by greater trade with the rest of the world, citing sources saying he had described this as "Europe-minus" and "world-plus".