Taoiseach keeps eye on the prize in awkward Trump encounter

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar looked somewhat out of his comfort zone on Thursday, sitting in the Oval Office making small talk with US president Donald Trump in front of the assembled press corps – but that's probably because he was.

There were moments when it seemed like an encounter on First Dates Ireland, Varadkar moving through topics of conversation, terrified of an awkward silence but keenly aware of the potential fruits if he could keep the show on the road.

There may have been no chemistry between the pair, but this annual St Patrick’s Day access to the White House and the chance to raise Irish interests with the president of the day is an opportunity unique to Ireland.

Varadkar spent 40 minutes with Trump and his vice president Mike Pence privately where trade and the Border with Northern Ireland were discussed, although details of the meeting were sparse.

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Of course, the encounter with Trump was only one facet of the trip. Varadkar spent most of the week travelling the United States waxing lyrical about Ireland and telling everyone why they should invest here.

On the other side of the world, Tánaiste Simon Coveney was doing the very same thing. He spent the week in China looking to build relationships at a time when there is much talk of opening new trade routes with the Far East.

For one thing, he said exports of Irish beef to China are expected to resume before the summer, having been frozen out for almost two decades due to the BSE crisis. “We’re there,” he declared. “The final stages have been achieved.”

Coveney was also on hand to announce the introduction of direct flights between Beijing and Dublin from June. He said the flights from Hainan Airlines have "massive potential" for tourism and business between Ireland and China.

On that note, new figures from Tourism Ireland this week showed tourism revenues in Ireland are on course to reach €6 billion in revenue this year following a strong finish to 2017.

Separately, while a number of Ministers were in the US this week to drum up investment in the Republic, figures from Enterprise Ireland showed close to 800 Irish companies have operations in the United States, employing more than 100,000 people there.

According to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, the value of Ireland’s foreign direct investment was calculated at over $85 billion (€69 billion) in 2017, ranking Ireland the ninth largest source of FDI.

Britain struggling to find a solution to avoid hard border

European Council president Donald Tusk put it up to the British government last week, demanding it come up with a solution to avoid a hard border in Ireland after Brexit, but God love them they’re struggling.

The latest bright idea to emanate from Downing St involved people registering to cross the Border in advance so as to avoid checks and delays.

It was claimed anyone without so-called fast track movement clearance would also have to use approved crossing points or risk being considered to have entered the State irregularly.

Varadkar dismissed the idea (again). “No,” he said. “It is not a solution we envisage.” Back to the drawing board so.

The urgency for a solution was exacerbated by a study from the Economic and Social Research Institute, which said Brexit could hit cross-Border trade harder than previously thought.

It found firms trading simultaneously in both directions accounted for more than 60 per cent of exports and more than 70 per cent of imports in 2015, concluding that this level of interconnectedness heightens the exposure to a hard Brexit.

All in all, the pace of progress is painfully slow. Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said the temporary transition period starting after Brexit may have to be extended beyond the end of 2020.

Meanwhile, Central Bank deputy governor Ed Sibley said "a lot" of the regulator's work these days is dominated by Brexit-related authorisations. He, however, warned that many financial firms remain unprepared for Britain's exit.

One company that is coming here is UK construction certification firm BRE Global, which is to open a new office in Dublin for its CE marking activities as it looks to secure its European business post-Brexit. It will create about 20 jobs.

Permanent TSB seeks reprieve on €900m loan sale

Thousands of mortgage holders on the verge of being gobbled up by vulture funds got wind of a potential reprieve this week.

Permanent TSB is seeking regulatory approval to reclassify €900 million of restructured mortgages as performing loans. That would allow the lender to pull the debt from a massive portfolio sale.

If it can get approval, it would save borrowers behind 4,300 homes from having their loans sold on – most likely to overseas funds.

The State-owned bank disclosed the development after reporting a €40 million profit for the year, which was its first return in a decade. That compared with a €266 million loss for 2016.

Believe it or not, the good news didn't stop there. Bank of Ireland plans to fund €144 million worth of purpose-built student accommodation over next two years, with a particular focus on Dublin and Cork where demand is strongest.

Elsewhere, homebuilder Glenveagh Properties said 11 of the most active overseas acquirers of Irish property and distressed loans in recent years are sitting on land capable of delivering 17,050 homes.

Many of the funds on the list, which includes US private equity groups King Street Capital, Lone Star Funds, Cerberus, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs, are now in talks about selling land to Glenveagh and others.

Many of the funds may be tempted to pull the trigger as they eye the impact of a vacant site levy aimed at penalising landowners for hoarding development property.

Gleanveagh also announced it has acquired two land portfolios for a combined €106 million, which are capable of delivering 2,235 homes across seven development sites in different regions of the State.

Another fund, Urbeo Residential, said it is planning to raise up to €400 million to invest in the private rental sector to provide housing to what it views as underserved segments of low and middle income households.

None of this can come soon enough as the latest house price figures showed a 12.5 per cent average increase over the past 12 months. In some areas, prices rose by more than 17 per cent.