Verizon adds Irish jobs, breaches of tipping rules and construction sector slowdown

US telecoms group Verizon Communications is expanding its Irish operations with more than 400 new staff at a global centre of excellence in Limerick over the next two years. Verizon, which employs around 1,000 workers in Dublin, could yet see that number of new jobs rise. Ciarán Hancock has the details.

Ellen O’Regan looks at the number of employers who have fallen foul of the new tipping legislation over the past year.

She also reports on the construction sector which saw its most dramatic slowdown this year in November, with house building performing particularly poorly, according to new data.

And she talks to a Roscommon engineer who has developed a tractor that can operate autonomously, offering an affordable option for thousands of smaller farmers looking to innovate. David Doran is also attracting attention from sectors ranging from construction to the military.

Sewage crisis: why this UK election is being fought on – and in – rivers and lakes

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Hubristic Woodford was the orchestrator of his own downfall

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Despite what people may think, taxes in Ireland are low compared to Europe

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China’s view of the world puts Ireland between a rock and a hard place

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Royal London Ireland has published its annual assessment of the money that stay-at-home parents are savings families, alongside a survey that shows most people grossly underestimate the cost.

In his column, Eoin Burke-Kennedy explains just what it is about the Government’s budgetary accounting that has led the State’s budgetary watchdog to label it “fiscal gimmickry” much to the annoyance of Minister for Finance, Michael McGrath.

With Pilita taking a break, Miranda Green urges office workers not to count on payback every time they help out a colleague.

And Banking and Payments Federation Ireland boss, Brian Hayes, says he welcomes the State’s proposed new accountability regime for senior bankers ... as long as it does not adversely impact on the ability of foreign banks to do business in Ireland.

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