More flights cut, global FDI falls, number in ‘jobless households’ increases

Ryanair and Aer Lingus are cutting further flights from regional airports as Covid-19 travel restrictions decimate bookings, the airlines told politicians on Wednesday, as they called on the Government to save Irish aviation from closing down by implementing the EU's traffic light system for safe travel. At the same Oireachtas committee meeting, Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports urged the Government to approve pre-departure testing for Covid-19, saying it could be implemented "within days" if given the go-ahead. Barry O'Halloran reports.

Revenue has been accused of harassing and intimidating businesses availing of the Government's Covid-19 wage subsidy scheme by writing to them to seek proof of their eligibility within five days. Revenue claims it has made no threats, writes Eoin Burke-Kennedy.

The pandemic has had a serious impact on the flow of global foreign direct investment (FDI), which fell 49 per cent in the first half of 2020 according to new figures from the UN's trade body, UNCTAD. The figures will be a cause of concern for the Republic, which is heavily reliant on FDI projects, writes Charlie Taylor.

The Central Statistics Office had more figures yesterday highlighting the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the State's labour market, this time showing how the number of people aged under 60 living in a "jobless household" has risen from 9.6 per cent last year, to almost 12 per cent in September. Eoin Burke-Kennedy has the details.

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He also reports on CSO retail statistics for September, which show sales rose by 1.5 per cent in the month boosted by car and DIY sales, but several sectors, including bars, were still well behind pre-pandemic levels. The figures predate the introduction of Level 5 restrictions.

The High Court has appointed joint provisional liquidatorsto the Irish arm of failed Munich-based electronic payments provider Wirecard AG, which is subject of an investigation by the German authorities over an alleged fraud. Mary Carolan reports.

Cantillon casts an eye over Permanent TSB's sale of ¤1.4 billion of boom-time interest-only buy-to-let mortgages to Citigroup, and also examines why the Covid-19 pandemic - despite all the talk of vaccines and treatments - has caused headaches for the pharma sector.

In her Net Results column, Karlin Lillington writes about how Big Tech and those looking to rein in and reform the sector have finally agreed on something - the necessity of getting Joe Biden into the White House.

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