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Insurance payouts, RTE’s new DG, and what the surplus means for State spending

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Kevin Bakhurst will take over as the next RTE director general. Photograph: Cyril Byrne / THE IRISH TIMES

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Peter Flanagan
Wed Apr 19 2023 - 06:34

It’s been a busy few weeks on the RTÉ beat. The controversy over the appointment of its next director general culminated with Kevin Bakhurst being named to the top job on Tuesday. Laura Slattery reports on his hiring, and also profiles Bakhurst, and looks at what awaits him when he returns to Montrose.

Laura was also first to report that the broadcaster’s new chairwoman Siún Ní Raghallaigh will tell an Oireachtas committee today that RTÉ must respond to the “steep” competition posed by “global giants with deep pockets” and become a “new RTÉ” for the digital age.

Another giveaway Budget is in prospect later this year after the Government presented updated economic forecasts yesterday which showed huge surpluses are expected in the public finances in the coming years. Eoin Burke-Kennedy and Pat Leahy have the story. In his analysis, Eoin questions if the Government’s plans are now ambitious enough.

Insurers operating in the Irish market had paid out €217 million on business interruption claims stemming from the pandemic by the end of last year, Joe Brennan reports, although a key upcoming ruling on FBD will largely determine the final cost to the sector.

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European Union negotiators agreed on a plan to pump funding into the microchip industry on Tuesday, in a bid to secure local production of a crucial technology that is at the centre of a global scramble. Naomi O’Leary reports.

Naomi also has the details of European Commissioner Mairead McGuinness’s proposals to stop taxpayers from footing the bill when banks collapse after a series of failures in the United States and Switzerland rattled markets earlier this year.

In her column, Sarah O’Connor looks at why countries are increasingly competing for migrant workers, despite the nativist wave sweeping much of the western world.

Raising a young child is one of the most rewarding, and stressful times for any parent. It can also cost a lot of money. In Money Matters, Briana Parkins tots up the potential costs facing new mothers and fathers.

Almost 1.7 million tourists arrived in the Republic in the first three months of the year as recovery began to grow momentum, figures from one industry body show. Barry O’Halloran has the story.

The developers of plans for an eight-storey, mixed-use scheme close to the 1815 Ha’penny Bridge in Dublin have drawn up alternative plans reducing the scale of the proposed block. Gordon Deegan has seen the plans.

AIB’s Haven and EBS subsidiaries said on Tuesday they are increasing selected variable mortgage rates by 0.35 of a percentage point on May 18th, as Irish lenders continue to pass on some of the European Central Bank (ECB) rate hikes that have taken place since last July. Joe has the story.

If you have a pile of old smartphones filling a drawer at home, you’re not alone. Ciara O’Brien reports that almost a fifth of Irish consumers have never recycled a smartphone, and 59 per cent said they have yet to take advantage of trade-in programmes, according to a new study.

An Irish subsidiary of US crypto asset exchange Kraken has become the latest company to receive virtual asset service provider (VASP) authorisation from the Central Bank of Ireland, bringing it under the regulator’s supervision for the purposes of anti-money laundering and criminal financing controls. Ian Curran reports.

A huge proportion of workers in the financial services sector are concerned about excessive surveillance and data collection at work, the findings of a new report from the Financial Services Union shows. Colin Gleeson has the story.

In Commercial Property, Irish Life is seeking €15.75 million for JD Sports’ Irish distribution centre in Dublin 15, while an apartment block in Sandymount is on the market for €10 million. Ronald Quinlan reports on both deals.

Ronald also has the inside track on plans for a new 150,000 sq ft logistics centre in Citywest.

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