Government ministers will meet the agency responsible for the Republic’s strategic oil reserves on Wednesday as the war in Iran poses an ongoing risk to energy supplies, writes Barry O’Halloran. Ministers confirmed the meeting after figures showed taxes boosted Government finances in the first three months of the year, even as contributions to pension and infrastructure funds left it with a €200 million deficit.
The exchequer figures for the first quarter of the year are the classic backward-looking indicator, Cliff Taylor says, with the main impact of the war in the Gulf lying ahead. But the figures suggest the Government has room to respond further to rising energy costs although the scope for this is limited.
Meanwhile, shoppers face higher grocery prices in the months ahead as fallout from the Middle East crisis feeds through from suppliers, according to industry analyst Worldpanel by Numerator. But, reports Colin Gleeson, fears for the future did not stop consumers splurging an extra €2.3 million over last year on chocolates ahead of Mother’s Day.
In Money Matters, Joanne Hunt writes that while family finances can be challenging at the best of times, for separated parents navigating co-parenting, they can be a real source of tension. Without a plan, even routine costs can cause arguments.
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Intact Insurance Ireland, which in a former life as RSA Insurance Ireland was the State’s biggest insurer, saw profits jump 59 per cent last year as its bond investments offset a near 40 per cent drop in earnings from its main business of insuring households and businesses. Joe Brennan has the details.
Sticking with financial services, Joe reports that Austrian banking group Bawag is close to carrying out a deal with Italy’s Unicredit to free up capital on its balance sheet, at a time when it is in the race to buy PTSB.
A company that has earned millions of euro from State contracts providing emergency accommodation for international protection applicants and Ukrainian refugees is facing opposition to convert a four-storey office block close to the Grand Canal into a short-stay hostel.
Dublin-based medtech Vertigenius has raised €2.55 million to fund the roll-out of its vertigo sensor into the US market after getting the green light form the FDA. Its wearable head sensor facilitates remote monitoring and adjustment of treatment for vertigo, which affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide
Elaine Moore takes a look at what the internet is deciding to forget. Do something embarrassing online and there’s a good chance it will live there forever, shared without your consent, she writes. But not everything that’s posted is permanent. The last big study of web pages found that more than a third available in 2013 were now inaccessible – leaving a trail of “link rot” in their wake.
In Commercial Property this week, Ronald Quinlan reports that French investor Iroko Zen has made its 22nd investment in the Irish property market, paying €23.165 million for Macken House, a fully let and fully upgraded six-storey office investment in the IFSC.
Separately, he writes that a consortium of private investors has acquired the well-known pub, The Dalkey Duck, from its long-standing owner, veteran publican, actor and entertainer Gary Whelan. While the value of the deal has not been disclosed, the property is understood to have secured in the region of the guided €2.5 million price.
And work has now been completed on Airport Trade Park, a new logistics scheme comprising 11,173 sq m (120,260 sq ft) of Grade A space. The five-acre site on Swords Road in Santry has been developed at a cost of €40 million.
Finally, Rathbones, one of the UK’s leading wealth and asset management groups, said on Tuesday it has taken a “significant step” in setting up an EU hub in Dublin by appointing financial sector compliance veteran Dolores Geaney as managing director.
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