Business Today: Rising rents, college costs and the Brexit beat

With a fresh crop of students preparing to start third-level in the coming weeks, it seems that Irish parents are big fans of a student loan scheme. Fiona Reddan reports on ongoing efforts to tackle the thorny issue of third level financing.

A major cost for many students is rent and there is bad news today on that front. According to the latest survey by Daft.ie, rents have increased by almost 12 per cent, year on year to June. This means that to rent, it now costs almost €3,000 a year more in Dublin and €1,500 a year outside the capital.

It's hardly surprisingly, therefore, that an increasing number of taxpayers are sprucing up their spare rooms. And, as Fiona Reddan, explains in her Your Money feature, thanks to the Government's rent-a-room scheme, you can earn up to €14,000 tax-free.

Staying with property, US vulture fund Cerberus is stepping up enforcement action against buy-to-let and residential mortgages, according to both court lists and interest groups. Barry O'Halloran has the details.

Legal appeals expected over north-south interconnector

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Listen up to the boys’ club: Ivan Yates returns to primetime radio

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Help-to-buy scheme blamed for housing imbalance

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Advocacy group challenges Fox bid to acquire Sky

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Back on the Brexit beat, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has cast doubt on claims that the border between the United States and Canada could be used as a model for the Irish Border after the UK leaves the EU. Fiach Kelly reports from Toronto.

It will be an unusually active August Tuesday down at the Four Courts today, with lawyers for a dissident Conroy Gold shareholder seeking to prevent further board appointments, while a ruling is due on the €280 million North-South power line. We will keep you updated on both stories throughout the day.

Have a terrific Tuesday.

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