Ireland’s 11 billionaires saw their wealth grow by a third, or €13 billion, last year, according to an Oxfam report released to coincide with the opening of the world Economic Forum annual gathering in Davos. In its Takers Not Makers report, Oxfam said global poverty remains at 1990 levels even as a modern oligarchy uses its wealth to build and consolidate political power. Eoin Burke-Kennedy has the details
In his column, Eoin, who is attending Davos this week, also shines a light on the annual schmoozefest and cautions that it now has a Marie Antoinette problem.
Affordability is becoming an increasing concern for first-time homebuyers even outside the Greater Dublin Area, according to a new report from the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland which says recent house price inflation is unsustainable but that supply pressures will not be eased until the number of new homes built exceeds 40,000 a year.
Cork medtech group Cergenx has secured FDA backing for a device that allows ordinary hospital staff detect brain injury in newborn infants without having to wait for specialist neurological specialists, in a move it hopes will improve outcomes for vulnerable neonatal populations.
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Also in the US, TikTok has restored service to its 170 million local users after President-elect Donald Trump said he would allow the platform’s parent more time to address concerns over its ownership structure and its connection to the Chinese Communist Party.
Back in Ireland, venture capital funding of Irish companies fell; 18 per cent last year despite a strong finish to 2024. However, writes Ciara O’Brien, the industry is more optimistic about 2025 after a strong start to the year.
And the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland is bigging up the importance of the nonbank sector in a report that says companies had extended €20 billion in credit to households and small businesses at the end of 2023, roughly half of it in mortgages. That, writes Eoin Burke-Kennedy amounts to about 15 per cent of all outstanding credit to these sectors at the time.
In her column, Pilita Clark takes a look at a study that examines the disconnect between well-paid wealthy bosses and their lower paid staff and warns that it can lead to the populist revolt that will only make bosses lives more difficult.
Meanwhile, renewables industry executive Val Cummins says the time is ripe for investing in floating offshore wind power, especially off our Atlantic coast. While Ireland has lost the window to lead offshore floating wind development, she says, it can capitalise on the opportunity.
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