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Abbott’s new €440m Irish investment, and Dalton Philips’ DAA exit interview

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Dalton Philips, who is preparing to step down as chief executive of the DAA. Photo: John Ohle for Irish Times

Ciarán Hancock's face
Ciarán Hancock
Fri Aug 12 2022 - 06:24

US medtech giant Abbott plans to invest €440 million in Ireland for a major new manufacturing plant in Kilkenny with additional jobs in Donegal. The expansion will lead to 1,000 new jobs being created here. Dominic Coyle has all the details of one of the biggest ever foreign direct investments in the State.

Dominic also notes how Abbott Laboratories opted for Ireland as a key manufacturing base for its new diabetes monitoring system even though the State is one of the most reluctant in Europe to use the product.

The majority of people refused a Local Authority Home Loan failed to demonstrate an adequate repayment capacity or had a previous credit history that was deemed “unsatisfactory”, the Housing Agency has said. Eoin Burke-Kennedy reports.

DAA chief executive Dalton Philips is in the departure lounge, ready to take off to a new role at Greencore. Before checking out, he sat down with Mark Paul to discuss a turbulent period in charge of the State-owned airport operator. Among other things, he talked about the need for a “mature debate” about the long-term future of its airport funding model, including whether private investment in Dublin Airport might be required if passenger fees are not allowed to rise. And he also discusses Covid and the shambolic queues at Dublin Airport this summer.

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In Caveat, Mark says we need to be careful how we interpret the data from Daft.ie’s rental surveys as the results don’t necessarily represent the full picture.

In Wild Geese, Tipperary woman Sarah Souther relays her journey to the United States, where she owns her own company making sweets and chocolates. The story is all the more remarkable given that she wasn’t allowed sweets as a child. Barbara McCarthy tells the story.

In his weekly column, John FitzGerald says we should be encouraging beef farmers, who make minimal returns, to substitute beef for some forestry to help the State meet its climate change targets.

Has traditional feedback outlived its usefulness? Olive Keogh seeks an answer to this question in our World of Work feature.

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