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Foresters blame Government delays for stalling a €1.3 billion aid plan for the industry that they say should have begun at the start of the year. Agriculture ministers Charlie McConalogue TD and Senator Pippa Hackett announced details of a new plan to boost tree-planting grants and yearly forestry payments to landowners by up to two thirds last November. Barry O’Halloran has the details.
Ornua, the State’s largest dairy exporter, reported a decline in operating profit last year despite a significant surge in the Kerrygold maker’s revenues linked to a 40 per cent increase in milk prices and an increase in the co-operative’s market share. Ian Curran has the story.
In some Irish expat communities around the world, it is referred to as “the $64,000 question” or sometimes just “the question”. “Will you go home?“, writes Brianna Parkins. It is the eternal should-I-stay-or-should-I-go debate that rattles around even the most enthusiastic emigrant’s mind from time to time, usually getting louder when elderly parents get sick, the realities of raising children with no family support sink in, or the death of a loved one highlights how difficult it is to live far from home.
Having failed to secure a buyer when it was put up for sale by its previous owners Green Reit in 2016, the Arena Centre in Tallaght is being offered to the market once more at a guide price of €45 million, writes Ronald Quinlan.
For every problem in the world of work, it’s usually possible to dream up a policy solution, writes Sarah O’Connor. Zero-hours contracts create insecurity? Let’s ban them in the UK. People are burnt out? Let’s create a “right to disconnect”. The British public should expect lots of proposals like these in the run-up to the next election, given the main political parties don’t want to promise anything that involves hefty public spending. Every time I hear ideas like these, however, I want to interject: can we start by just enforcing the laws we’ve already got?
A lack of affordable housing and poor transport infrastructure are the biggest challenges facing business in the capital, a Dublin Chamber survey has found, with one in four firms also indicating that attracting and retaining talent is the biggest issue they face. Ian Curran reports.
Ireland’s cities must be reimagined to make them efficient and sustainable, argues Philip Jackson, and there are plenty of European examples to provide templates for improving our urban spaces.
With fewer than 1,300 hotel guest bedrooms available within Kilkenny and its immediate environs, according to Fáilte Ireland, the sale of a site in the heart of the medieval city with full planning permission for a new 114-bedroom hotel should see strong interest from a range of potential buyers. The site is being offered to the market by John Ryan of licensed and hospitality specialists BDM Property, at a guide price of €3.75 million. Ronald Quinlan reports
Could Fintech companies like Revolut and N26, along with more established companies such as An Post and our Credit Unions, prove to be viable alternatives for consumers looking to change? On our Inside Business podcast, Business Editor Ciarán Hancock gets some insight from Markets Correspondent Joe Brennan, Consumer Affairs Correspondent Conor Pope and Daragh Cassidy from Bonkers.ie. Plus, are house-hunters likely to see asking prices dropping across the board over the next twelve months?
