In brief

Today's other stories in brief

Union to meet O'Kane about redundancies

Union officials representing 300 workers who will lose their jobs tomorrow when Castlemahon Poultry in Limerick closes, are to meet executives from the Northern Ireland parent company O'Kane Group today in the hopes of improving redundancy terms for the workforce.

According to ATGWU regional secretary Seán Kelly, there is considerable anger among the workforce that O'Kane is refusing to pay the workers anything more than the statutory redundancy of two weeks per year of service.

Use of broadband by business doubles

The number of businesses using broadband has almost doubled since 2004, according to the latest figures published by the Central Statistics Office.

Almost all businesses now use the internet, with 61 per cent of those with 10 or more employees favouring broadband connections over modems and ISDN lines.

Almost half of all households have access to the internet and 13 per cent have broadband, up from 7 per cent last year.

Call to address hidden tax costs

The Government has been called on to address the hidden costs of taxation by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.

In a pre-budget submission, it has also called on the Government to use the taxation system to help sustain the environment, to update tax relief and to streamline collection procedures.

€50m investment in meat processing

A €50 million investment package for the beef and sheepmeat processing sector was announced by Minister for Agriculture and Food Mary Coughlan yesterday. While she said the package should trigger a €120 million development of the plants, Meat Industry Ireland said it was concerned it would be insufficient to achieve the transformation needed.

Tullow gas pressure less than expected

Tullow Oil yesterday released an update on its NW Schooner well in the North Sea, saying the gas pressure at the site was "significantly" below expectations. The group's shares fell on the news, though analysts said it served more as a reminder that oil and gas exploration is not a risk-free business, rather than any reflection on Tullow's track record, which remains positive.

In a statement, the company said the drilling had revealed that the well was linked to the main Schooner field. As a result the pressure was lower than anticipated. Drilling has been suspended while it assesses the results.

Standard Life's Irish sales up 60%

Sales at the Irish unit of Scottish insurance company Standard Life grew by almost 60 per cent in the nine months to September 30th. Standard Life Ireland said yesterday that the most significant growth in sales was recorded in the area of single premium investments, which "rocketed" upwards by 135 per cent to €102 million, from €43 million in the same period last year. Pension sales were up 48 per cent to €26.8 million, compared to €18 million in the first nine months of 2005.

Sunway, Omni Travel in merger

Irish travel companies Sunway Travel Group and Omni Travel have merged their tour operating businesses. It is expected that the merger will enable Sunway to gain market share from the international operators currently dominating the Irish market.