Galway businessman Declan Ganley's Rivada Networks has brought out the big political guns in its attempt to win a slice of a new $6.5 billion (€5.6 billion) US government telecoms network, bringing Jeb Bush and Martin O'Malley on board to lobby on its behalf. Mark Paul reports on Mr Ganley's efforts to win the contracts, which have, in the case of one state, seen him promise the creation of 6,000 jobs.
The latest revelations drawn from the Paradise Papers show former billionaire Anthony O'Reilly established a trust in Bermuda in the late 1980s for the benefit of his daughters, but instructed that they should not be contacted because they were unaware of its existence.
In her Net Results column, Karlin Lillington reflects on a week of Paradise Papers discoveries and concludes that too many of us choose to just look the other way in the face of such matters. This week's Inside Business podcast also takes up the issue of international tax avoidance, with UK tax reform campaigner Professor Richard Murphy arguing that the Republic is in a dubious position as the debate about tax transparency rages. Prof Murphy is also calling for reforms in how the big four accountancy firms are regulated globally.
A drive within the Irish gay and transgender community to win access to cheaper drugs to prevent and treat HIV has been boosted by a court case in Dublin, according to Mark Paul. The loss by pharma giant Gilead in its action against generics manufacturers is expected to see generic versions of the Truvada drug soon go on sale for 60 per cent less than Gilead's named product.
House priceswere again in the news on Wednesday, with Conor Pope reporting on new CSO figures showing it is now 87 per cent more expensive to buy a home in Dublin than it was at the bottom of the market in 2013. Separately, but in the same neighbourhood, the Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe, has said the introduction of a tax on vacant propertieswould throw up too many legal and social complications to allow him to commit to moving in that direction. Eoin Burke-Kennedy reports.
