The Sunday Times carries the story that Intel has issued a warning to the Government over the future of the semiconductor industry amid growing competition from Asia.
Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act reveal the struggling chipmaker wrote to Paschal Donohoe, then Minister for Public Expenditure, in December to call for a “competitive incentive programme” to strengthen the Republic’s offering to the industry.
Leonard Hobbs, government affairs leader at Intel Ireland, told the Fine Gael TD that some Asian states currently offer much larger incentives than the €100 million to €120 million on offer from IDA Ireland.
The Republic, Mr Hobbs said, should look at creating a “comprehensive and competitive programme” to “attract and retain” chipmakers.
Shares in Intel jumped this week amid reports that it could be the target of a takeover bid from rival Broadcom. If successful, the deal could lead to the break-up of the company, which employs 5,000 people in Ireland.
McKillen and Qatari sheikh in failed mediation
Also in the Sunday Times, the saga of Irish property mogul Paddy McKillen’s wrangle with a Qatari sheikh continues after both sides failed to show up to an early mediation hearing in London.
The meeting’s objective was to see whether the case, in which Mr McKillen’s company Hume Street Management Consultants claims it is owed $3 million over Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani’s failure to pay for work on a New York Mansion, should proceed to full a mediation hearing.
It relates to a series of disputes between Mr McKillen and Mr Al Thani, arising from a disagreement over the Belfast-born businessman’s removal from the board of the hotel group that, among other properties, owns Claridge’s in London.
The case has been referred back to the judge after both sides failed to show up to the meeting in January.
School raises Xerotech safety concerns
A school beside Xerotech’s manufacturing facility in Claregalway has urged the liquidators of the failed lithium battery maker to prioritise safety over financial returns, the Sunday Independent reports.
Coláiste Bhaile Chláir principal Alan Mongey is awaiting responses after writing to the Galway County Council and Government agencies to seek clarity about the removal of lithium-ion batteries stored close to the school’s playground.
Liquidators were appointed to electric vehicle battery group Xerotech last week, months after it said it was planning to raise up to €30 million this summer, with investors having already ploughed about €44 million into the company.
The company collapsed following a fire at the Claregalway facility in January, which took three days to bring under control and led to the evacuation of several businesses and two schools in the area.
Glenveagh set for crunch talks over Oscar Traynor scheme
Listed home builder Glenveagh is set to enter talks with Dublin City Council over the future of the 800-unit Oscar Traynor Road affordable housing development in north Dublin, the Business Post Reports.
Work has been on hold at the Coolock site since January after the local authority discovered evidence of construction work which is not compliant with building regulations.
Glenveagh, which disputes the findings, will meet Richard Shakespeare, the chief executive of Dublin City Council, Anthony Flynn, the council’s assistant chief executive for planning, and Mick Mulhern, the assistant chief executive for housing, at the site.
A spokesman for the group said Glenveagh has proposed “a number of industry standard solutions” to the council, and that “proactive discussions” between the two sides were ongoing.
