Aer Lingus pilots to vote on strikes while ECB prepares to cut rates

The best news, analysis and comment from The Irish Times business desk

Aer Lingus pilots are to be balloted on industrial action including possible strikes. Photograph: Tom Honan
Aer Lingus pilots are to be balloted on industrial action including possible strikes. Photograph: Tom Honan

Business Today

Business Today

Get the latest business news and commentary from our expert business team in your inbox every weekday morning

If you’re planning on flying this summer, well, buckle up. Aer Lingus pilots are to vote on possible industrial action, including strikes, in a dispute with the carrier on pay. The ballot comes after the pilots union overwhelmingly rejected an interim proposal from the Labour Court earlier this week. Barry O’Halloran reports on the latest moves. Coming as it does hot on the heels of a warning from Ryanair that people flying from Dublin Airport face higher prices in the wake of the now notorious cap on passenger numbers at the hub, it’s fair to say that travellers face a summer of uncertainty.

If you follow central banks, this might be one of the more exciting days of the year. The ECB is set to cut interest rates for the first time in since it began hiking rates to fight inflation two years ago. Indeed, it will be the first time it cut any of its main interest rates since 2019. It will of course be very welcome to mortgage holders, but the path for rates beyond today is still uncertain.

Fast food chain Supermac’s has won another big victory in its long-running trademark dispute with McDonald’s, after a European Union court ruling sided with the Galway company. Jack Power has the details.

The vast majority of the €3.2 billion worth of tax that businesses deferred through a Government scheme during the Covid-19 pandemic has now either been paid or is in the process of being paid, Revenue said on Friday, with a whopping €1.07 billion either collected or a payment plan agreed on since April 1.

The McCann family once synonymous with the Fyffes increased its stake in Balmoral International Land to above the 60 per cent level last year, after the property company bought back some shares from small legacy investors at a time when its assets outperformed the wider real-estate market. Joe Brennan reports.

In her column, Karlin Lillington looks at the legacy of former Baltimore Technologies CEO Fran Rooney who died last month. While it may not be well known today, Baltimore’s exploits in the field of strong cryptography helped lay the groundwork for the likes of iMessage and online banking, among many other services.

In Technology and Innovation, Chris Horn looks at the legacy of Cork man Percy Ludgate who saw the potential of a computer decades before it became a reality, while Olive Keogh meets Roamr – a company that helps firms cut their travel costs by paying colleagues to accommodate each other. Ciara O’Brien meanwhile gives her top tips to avoid being scammed on holiday this summer.

Start Mortgages, the loan-servicing company owned by US private-equity giant Lone Star, has completed the transfer of €2 billion of mortgages that had been on its books to rival Mars Capital Ireland, after deciding late last year to quit the market. Joe has the story.

It has lain dormant since it was sold in 2017, but the former headquarters of the Central Bank will open for business today as the new flagship location of WeWork’s Dublin operation. Ronald Quinlan has the story, as well as a first look at the offices.

New rules to better protect consumers from financial abuse, fraud and unregulated activities are “much needed and long overdue”, the Compliance Institute says. But it could be another two years before they come into force, it warns. Dominic Coyle reports.

After the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council’s latest broadside to the Government over its budgetary policy, Cantillon looks at what really is at play. He also looks at what UK neobank Monzo may be planning after it said it is in the process of setting up an Irish base earlier this week.

Central Bank deputy governor Sharon Donnery, who acted as interim governor after Philip Lane quit to join the ECB in 2019, is now leaving too. She will move to take up a role with the European Central Bank and leave the Irish regulator later this year.

As Leaving Certificate exams get under way, one of the largest schools in the State, the Institute of Education in Dublin, has submitted a planning application to redevelop its adjoining properties on Leeson Street Lower. As Eoin Burke-Kennedy reports, the proposed development will see the refurbishment of the properties at 19 and 20 Leeson Street Lower to provide enhanced facilities for existing students and staff, including nine new classrooms and tutorial rooms.

After Intel’s agreement to sell part of the interest in its plant in Leixlip to US private equity giant Apollo, Joe looks at what is at play for the chipmaker, while Cliff Taylor goes through the key questions for Ireland arising out of the deal.

Stay up to date with all our business news: sign up to our Business Today daily email news digest. If you’d like to read more about the issues that affect your finances try signing up to On the Money, the weekly newsletter from our personal finance team, which will be issued every Friday to Irish Times subscribers.

News Digests

News Digests

Stay on top of the latest news with our daily newsletters each morning, lunchtime and evening