Twitter whistleblower; Tiger and Rory’s new business; and an Irish chocolate legend dies

Twitter made “egregious and ongoing misrepresentations” to the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) and other regulators, a new whistleblower document has claimed. Brian Moran has the details.

Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy say they have joined forces to launch a company that aims to build “technology-focused ventures” which could include stadium golf events.

Laura Slattery reports that the pace of new account openings at Irish banks slowed down in July even as Ulster Bank and KBC moved closer to their exit from the market. However, despite the lull — attributed to holiday season — the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland says close to 12,000 new accounts have been opened each week so far this year.

And Barry O’Halloran answers the questions readers will likely have over the prospect of higher electricity charges at peak periods this winter.

Employers reluctance to embrace new workplace pension arrangements could cost their staff in terms of lower retirement income, a pensions expert has said.

A proposed €50 million build-to-rent, senior-living scheme on a site at Blackrock Rugby Club has drawn 80 objections from local residents, writes Gordon Deegan. Tetrarch Residential is looking to build 108 apartments on the land.

Meanwhile Ventaway, a company headed up by developer David Kennan and Winthrop engineering group founder Barry English, is seeking planning permission to develop Dublin’s tallest building on the site of the former City Arts Centre at City Quay, writes Ronald Quinlan.

Aer Lingus has said it has no intention of following sister airline British Airways in scaling back its winter schedule. Ian Curran reports that the airline expects to operate a schedule in line with its 2019 capacity levels.

Ian also writes about exporters’ concerns over a wave of strikes at British ports. But while the eight-day stoppage at Felixstowe — the UK’s largest container port — is drawing the headlines, it is threatened action at Liverpool that most worries Irish exporters, especially those shipping through Belfast.

Dublin-headquartered Dole Foods, which merged with Total Produce last year to become the largest supplier of fresh fruit and vegetables in the world, saw revenue double to €2.4 billion) in the second quarter of 2022, writes Eoin Burke-Kennedy.

In her column, Sarah O’Connor accepts that her prediction of lower city rents as working from home led to a more dispersed workforce has proved to be wrong as rents continue to rise. She looks at why that might be.

Finally, the death has been reported of Connie Doody, the pioneering Irish businesswoman who cofounded Lir Chocolates in her kitchen, along with former Fianna Fáil senator, Mary White, in the teeth of a recession in 1986, building the business up into one of the State’s high profile exporters. Mark Paul has the details.

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