Celtic Interconnector cost jumps over 70%

The cost of the first power line linking Ireland with continental Europe, known as the Celtic Interconnector, has jumped by €670 million – or 72 per cent – to €1.6 billion, the Sunday Times reports.

It was previously estimated in 2019 that the 575km cable, which will allow the exchange of electricity between Ireland and France, would cost €930 million.

Construction on the project is due to get under way by the end of this year and it is expected to be completed in 2026. The cable will carry up to 700 mega watts (MW) of power, enough energy for 450,000 homes.

Bank of Ireland to wind down internal trading desk

The Sunday Independent reports that Bank of Ireland is winding down its internal trading desk, with 30 employees on the team being offered a choice between applying for another role in the group’s corporate and markets division or taking redundancy.

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The newspaper cited a spokesman for the bank as saying that the bank has decided to cease proprietary trading – which is trading using its own money for gains, rather than earning commission for dealing for customers. In future, the bank’s global markets team “will now be entirely focused on serving customers”.

Vodafone Ireland moves to cut costs

Vodafone Ireland has begun to cut back on new hires, events and staff travel as it seeks to rein in costs amid soaring energy prices and the effects of wider inflation in the economy, the Sunday Independent also reports.

A spokesman said the company is “having to make decisions, as are many other businesses, to ensure we maintain a healthy business and to safeguard the long-term future success of Vodafone Ireland”, according to the report.

Vodafone Group’s shares have fallen from 140p in March to 105p last week as tech and telecoms companies have come under particular pressure amid global financial markets volatility.

OECD official warns of ‘big scale’ Irish tech jobs losses

An OECD researcher and author of an IDA-commissioned report last year on foreign direct investment (FDI), Martin Wermelinger, has warned that the country’s heavy reliance on FDI leaves us exposed to “big-scale” job losses during the current economic downturn, the Business Post reports.

A number of IDA-supported tech companies, including Meta, Twitter, Stripe and Salesforce, have announced large job cuts this month.

Still, Wermelinger told the newspaper that the stock of overseas investment into Ireland remains strong and the State has a “competitive advantage” in the technology sector which it should continue to be able to exploit.

Altada to be put up for sale after receiver appointed

The Business Post also reports that Altada, the troubled Cork-based data management and artificial intelligence company, will be put up for sale within weeks after a receiver was appointed last week to the firm.

The report said the husband and wife duo behind the company, Allan Beechinor and Niamh Parker, are no longer in control of the firm. It added that a “number of parties” are believed to be interested in buying the assets of the business.

In August, Altada announced that it had furloughed a number of staff on a “temporary” basis due to “unforeseen market conditions”. The company, which employed 13 people in Ireland last year, had plans to grow its headcount to 100 before it faced financing issues following delays to a planned funding round earlier this year.