German energy giant RWE seeks approval for Co Clare wind farm

The owner of a coal mine near Lützerath, a largely abandoned village in Germany recently evacuated by police after environmental protests, has applied for planning permission to build a wind farm in Co Clare, reports the Sunday Independent.

Earlier this month, the Irish subsidiary of German energy group RWE submitted an application to Clare County Council for the Fahy Beg wind farm.

The estimated capacity of the wind farm, which has attracted local opposition, could power about 20,000 homes a year, an RWE Ireland spokesman told the newspaper.

RWE, which plans to spend €1.5 billion on green energy projects in the Republic between now and 2030, owns the controversial Garzweiler mine in Lützerath, where climate activist Greta Thunberg was last week among those briefly detained.

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In December, the multinational welcomed the Department of the Environment’s decision to grant consent for its wind farm proposal off the coast of Dublin.

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Developer pension

Irish developer Bernard McNamara has succeeded in protecting his pension pot of €6.1 million from his bankruptcy trustees in the UK, according to the Sunday Times.

The High Court in London decided the trustees may not legally challenge a Court of Justice of the European Union ruling in his favour.

Mr McNamara went bankrupt in the UK in 2012. Under British law, a pension is exempt from seizure, but trustees claimed the pension scheme should form part of his bankruptcy estate because it was registered in the Republic.

Property writedowns

The Irish commercial property market could lose €10 billion in value in 2023, according to the Business Post.

Significant writedowns are expected across the market in response to rising interest rates and reduced demand, it said, citing a research note by Colin Lauder, head of real estate at stockbrokers Goodbody, which warned that prime office blocks in Dublin city centre will lose up to 20 per cent of their value this year, while retail properties could lose up to 10 per cent.

The three main property investment funds – controlled by Bank of Ireland, Aviva and Irish Life – have booked multiple writedowns over recent months.

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Mortgage letters

Bank of Ireland and other mortgage lenders are asking employees of tech giants to provide letters from their employer to say their jobs are not at risk when applying for a loan, reports the Sunday Independent.

Association of Irish Mortgage Advisors chairman Trevor Grant told the newspaper “letters of comfort” are often sought by lenders of an employer that has made a public announcement about job losses, and that Bank of Ireland is now asking him for such letters as standard in relation to certain tech companies.

Gerry Hiney, from Dublin brokerage Park Financial Planning, said his company was able to secure a letter in some instances but in others it was not possible because employers do not know if the applicant’s role will be affected by lay-offs in the sector.

Airport car park

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has received six complaints about airport operator DAA’s planned purchase of a large Nama-controlled car park near Dublin Airport, reports the Sunday Times.

DAA, the operator of Dublin and Cork airports, was the successful bidder for the car park owned by developer Gerry Gannon, whose debts are controlled by Nama. It has been closed since 2019.

A number of complaints have been lodged from underbidders for the €70 million, 42-acre site, which has space for 6,122 cars.

Cairn’s RTÉ site

Cairn Homes has lobbied Dublin City Council in an attempt to avoid millions of euro in land hoarding fines set to be levied on the €107.5 million Donnybrook site it acquired from RTÉ six years ago, reports the Business Post.

From 2024, owners of land on Dublin’s new residential zoned land tax register will be charged a 3 per cent fine based on the market value of their holding. But the home builder said timely development of the site might be out of its control, citing the risk of judicial review among its reasons.

Cairn has asked the council to take its site off the register or defer the application of the fine until the site has full planning permission. Its October 2022 planning application was approved, but has been appealed to An Bord Pleanála.

This article was edited on January 22nd to correct the name of Bernard McNamara