Homes for Clontarf, contactless now king for consumers, and lab-grown chicken put to the test

Up to 5,000 new homes could be built on the grounds of Clontarf Golf Club if the 75-acre site is rezoned for residential purposes, and if members of the club agree to move to a new course on lands that were once part of the Abbeville estate in Kinsealy owned by former taoiseach Charles Haughey, property developer Green Land Capital has told Dublin City Council. Ciarán Hancock reports.

The construction of new homes is under threat from soaring costs, according to surveying firm Linesight. They predict that the inflation that added up to 23 per cent to costs of key materials including timber in 2021 will continue to the end of this year, writes Barry O'Halloran.

The warning comes on the back of the latest house price figures from the Central Statistics Office, which show that the price of an average house in Dublin topped half a million euro last year as buyers scrambled to purchase a limited number of new and secondhand homes. Eoin Burke-Kennedy has the news story, while Cantillon asks, have prices reached Celtic Tiger levels?

The value of contactless payments rocketed 48.3 per cent in 2021, while use of cheques hit a new low, according to figures from Banking & Payments Federation Ireland. Laura Slattery reports.

Celtic Tiger property prices: are we there yet?

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Avolon could lease 100 aircraft made by Vertical to AirAsia

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Glencore sets aside $1.5bn to settle corruption inquiries

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Spending on flights soars as consumers plan their holidays

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The Irish Council for Civil Liberties has criticised Minister for Justice Helen McEntee for not launching an independent review of the functioning of the Data Protection Commission, which was recommended in a report by the Oireachtas Justice committee last summer, writes Mark Paul.

Plans by the Denis O'Brien-controlled Beacon Hospital for a ¤75 million eight-storey extension have been stalled. Gordon Deegan has the details.

Thinking of buying a new television but feeling daunted by what’s on offer? Ciara O’Brien has everything you need to know.

In Innovation, Cade Metz asks why Silicon Valley is still waiting for the next big thing, while Olive Keogh writes about a new "electronic bubble" app that aims to promote farm safety.

And finally, how would you feel about eating meat that had taken just three weeks to grow from cells in a laboratory tank? Kim Severson samples a lab-grown "chicken breast", so you don't have to.

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