Seen and Heard: £5m for NI growth fund

The New York State pension fund, reports the Sunday Times, which has more than 1 million members is investing £5 million in the Bank of Ireland's NI Kernel Capital growth fund.

The £30 million fund is also backed by Invest NI, the small business agency. The venture is run by Kernel Capital, which is based in Cork. The New York fund is the third-largest pension plan in the US with $185 billion in net assets. Its members are current and retired workers from more than 3,000 state and local government organisations.

The Sunday Times also reports that the Dublin Airport Authority is to press ahead with the building of a €250 million second runway at the capital's airport as passenger and cargo numbers surge.

The DAA board has agreed to proceed with the runway based on planning permission that was secured in 2007. The decision will be announced in the coming weeks, the paper says.

The Sunday Business Post reports on a call on the Central Bank to change it mortgage rules. According to the paper, the chief executive of Bank of Ireland, Richie Boucher, said that the requirement for higher deposit had moved the goalposts for those trying to get on the housing ladder and that this requirement should be changed.

Mr Boucher went on to say that he was in favour of keeping the loan-to-income ceiling which prevents borrowers from borrowing more than three-and-a-half times their income.

The Post also reports that Eirgrid staff received €9 million in bonus payments over the past five years. All of the company's 339 staff are eligible for awards of up to 15 per cent on top of their basic salaries. Last year it paid out amounts ranging from €19,000 and €2,400 to its senior executives and junior staff.

According to the Sunday Independent more than 60 high-net-worth individuals including senior barristers and partners in legal and accountancy firms have reached private settlements with the Revenue Commissioners over an aggressive tax-avoidance scheme involving drilling oil wells in the American midwest.

The settlement means that the names of those who have settled will not be published in the quarterly list of defaulters.

The Independent also writes that Icon chief executive Ciaran Murray received a pay package of €11.29 million last year, which, according to the paper , far outstrips those of other chief executives of Irish-listed companies.

The Sunday Telegraph reports that the proposed merger between the London Stock Exchange and the Deutsche Boerse is coming under fire in Germany, with politicians and industry leaders coming out against the deal on the grounds that it could erode Frankfurt's status as a financial hub.