Dublin Airport’s proposed noise quota system, which it hopes will replace the existing night-time cap on flights, will result in “many more air traffic movements” at night and a likelihood that “the overall noise will increase”, according to an expert analysis. That’s according to a report in the Sunday Business Post.
The analysis of the quota system – a kind of “noise budget”, proposals for which are being considered currently by An Bord Pleanála – notes that the quota for Dublin “far exceeds the totals in Gatwick, Heathrow, and Stansted”.
In his analysis, Dr Eoin King, a lecturer in mechanical engineering at the University of Galway, has argued that the airport’s proposed noise quota should be reduced and that it should be operated in conjunction with a movement limit on flights.
Without a movement limit, the airport’s operator, DAA, could potentially operate “unlimited” flights on certain categories of aircraft, he said.
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DAA, which operates Dublin Airport, also wants to reduce restrictions on night-time flights by expanding its unrestricted daytime operating hours by an hour at each end, from 6am to midnight instead of the current system of 7am to 11pm.
Corporate tax plans will scare off global investors, US firms warn
The Government’s plan to implement new global corporate tax rules could lead to double taxation for US multinationals and undermine the country’s ability to attract foreign direct investment, a powerful lobby group has warned, a report in the Sunday Business Post claims.
The American Chamber of Commerce, which includes senior Irish executives from Pfizer, Google and Microsoft, has called for the Government to urgently refine its plan.
Documents show that global giants, industry groups and tax experts have warned the state of a number of significant risks to its plan for a new top-up tax on big businesses, as part of an international agreement on corporate tax.
The tax, which will be introduced by the Department of Finance by the end of this year, will bring Ireland up to the 15 per cent rate agreed under a global OECD deal in 2021.
Roadbridge liquidator focuses on disputed €28.9m
The liquidator of Roadbridge is continuing to investigate a disputed £25 million (€28.9 million) payment that the collapsed construction giant had claimed it was owed by a major British plc, the Sunday Independent reports.
The disputed payment from UK gas networks provider SGN, which relates to a gas pipeline project that Roadbridge undertook in Northern Ireland, was claimed to have been central to the building firm’s financial failure in March 2022.
A delegation of senior Roadbridge executives had travelled to the UK to try to come to an agreement over the £25m that Roadbridge claimed for its work on the Gas to the West project.
Roadbridge was one of two contractors appointed in 2017 to work on the £250m infrastructure project to bring natural gas to counties Tyrone, Derry and Fermanagh.
McGrath issues rebuke to Varadkar over budget promises
Minister for Finance Michael McGrath has strongly rebuked Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and other Ministers warning them not to raise expectations in advance of October’s budget, according to the Sunday Business Post.
Mr McGrath hit back at comments by Mr Varadkar earlier this week on potential mortgage interest relief for people struggling with their repayments due to rising interest rates.
He said he was “not going to raise expectations in the weeks leading up to the budget about what can be achieved, and then end up disappointing people”.
It comes as Mr McGrath has also revealed that he will extend the bank levy in Budget 2024, as he resists calls for Ireland to implement a controversial windfall tax on banks in a similar manner to that announced by Georgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, last week.
