Property prices weaken, new hospitals and the wisdom of Oz

Prices in Dublin's high-end residentialproperty market are continuing to weaken as the pandemic lingers on, with a new report showing prime prices fell by 4.1 per cent in the year to September 2020. Fiona Reddan has the details.

Rents rose 1.2 per cent nationally in the third quarter, reports Charlie Taylor, but were stable in Dublin due to an increase in availability of properties arising from the Covid crisis.

Healthcare group Mater Private is opening the doors on Monday at two new day hospitals in Dublin in what amounts to a €13 million investment by the business. Dominic Coyle reports.

VentureWave Capital, which is behind a new €100 million fund for Irish technology companies, has announced its first investment, with €2 million going to healthy meal-kit delivery service DropChef, writes Charlie Taylor.

Mater Private opens two new day hospitals in Dublin

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DropChef secures €2m as Impact Ireland fund makes first investment

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Plum aims for 300,000 customers with launch in Ireland

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High-end property prices in capital softening

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Plum, a fintech that has developed a smart solution that helps consumers save more effectively, reports Charlie Taylor, is launching in the Irish market with plans to capture up to 300,000 customers by the end of 2021.

Construction activity neared stabilisation in the Republic in October, albeit with reports of some ongoing disruption due to the Coronavirus pandemic, according to Ulster Bank. Charlie Taylor reports.

Pilita Clark says that Boris Johnson could do with taking more from Australia than just Tony Abbott.

Chris Johns says those on the left need to change their tune of they are to woo voters away from populism.

In our Monday Opinion slot Liam Lynch, partner with KPMG Ireland, argues that the national economic plan must be guided by long-term vision that looks beyond Covid.

In ourInside Business podcast Ciarán Hancock is joined by Pat McCann, Chief Executive of Dalata Hotel Group. McCann last spoke to us on the podcast back in April, as the hotel industry came to terms with the lockdown. So how have things progressed in the seven months since?

Applications for The Irish Times Innovation Awardsfor 2020 are now invited. The awards will recognise innovations and bright ideas brought to market between January 1st, 2019 and May 30th of this year, across five categories. It's free to enter so check it out .

For all information on the Top 1000 Irish companies go to irishtimes.com/top1000.

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