New homes in Saggart, current accounts on the move and Francesca McDonagh’s legacy

Developer Tetrarch Capital has won permission to build 266 homes at Saggart in west Dublin, despite an objection from the Department of Defence which had warned of potential impact on Casement Aerodrome. An Bord Pleanála gave the go-ahead for the company to build 51 houses, 38 duplexes and 177 apartments and a creche at Mill Road in Saggart, close to the Citywest Hotel. Peter Flanagan reports.

Some 71,000 personal current accounts were opened in the Republic in the four weeks to early July, marking a doubling in the pace of activity in three months, ahead of the exits of Ulster Bank and KBC Bank Ireland from the market. The data, provided by Banking & Payments Federation Ireland, cover Bank of Ireland, AIB and Permanent TSB as well as An Post and credit unions. Joe Brennan reports.

Lidl Ireland has announced the removal of a mandatory retirement age clause for current and prospective employees, saying all staff will be given the option to continue working for the grocery retailer beyond its current retirement age of 65. The German-owned company said it was the first large employer in Ireland to make a public commitment to support employees who wish to work past the age of 65. Laura Slattery reports.

In Caveat, Mark Paul argues that Eamon Ryan has made Ireland a global leader in the school of environmentalist thinking that holds there should be no more oil or gas exploration and the industry must be put to bed, as quickly as possible.

Family affairs: How Ireland’s newly rich are putting money to work in secretive firms

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All You Need Is Death review: Singular Irish horror is a symphony of weirdness

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The Corrs’ manager’s secluded south Dublin home on an acre for €4.25m

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Tactical breakdown: How Mickey Harte’s side have evolved into Derry 2.0

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Wild Geese meets Rachel Nicholson, who has made a home and built a career in Cape Town, South Africa.

The mantra of the next era in retail might well be localisation, localisation, localisation, writes John Thornhill.

Brainstorming is hard enough when people are in the same room. Remote brainstorming is even harder, as many teams discovered during the pandemic, writes Olive Keogh.

Joe Brennan looks at the legacy of outgoing Bank of Ireland chief executive Francesca McDonagh, the British bankerwho overhauled culture of Ireland’s largest bank and leaves it on the cusp of a key profitability target.

With the flow of Russian gas to Europe in ever more doubt this winter, the EU is grappling with how to ensure adequate energy supplies across its member states. As an island state unconnected to the EU gas network, Ireland has secured an exemption from a new EU directive that calls for a 15 per cent reduction in use. But that doesn’t mean Ireland can avoid any pain. Barry O’Halloran and Naomi O’Leary join Ciarán Hancock on the latest Inside Business podcast to discuss the crisis. Barry also reports on the latest Ryanair news, including Q1 results and baggage handling problems.

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