A round-up of today's other stories in brief
TG4 set to become independent
Irish language TV station TG4 will become an independent body next year after operating under the umbrella of RTÉ since its inception a decade ago.
Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Noel Dempsey, yesterday said he would set up a project management group to oversee the establishment of TG4 as an independent body by April, 2007.
The Minister will seek extra funding during the estimates process to help the channel improve its Irish language schedule and reduce the number of repeats broadcast.
"It is appropriate that in the period approaching the 10th anniversary of its going on air a decision on its future has been taken by the Government," said Cathal Goan, RTE's director-general.
Minister appoints solicitor to VHI
VHI Healthcare, the country's largest health insurer, said Karen Hickey-Dwyer was appointed to its board for a five-year period by Minister for Health Mary Harney.
Ms Hickey-Dwyer is a senior associate at Ivor Fitzpatrick & Company solicitors, specialising in family law, healthcare, clinical negligence and insurance litigation.
BrandMail raises €1.25m for email
The Irish-headquartered company BrandMail Solutions has raised €1.25 million in the first round of funding for its unique secure branded email product.
BrandMail's email system ensures that end-users only receive genuine mails from legitimate source, and discards "spoofed" or "phishing" emails. According to founder and managing director Noel Ruane, the company will soon announce a product launch with a leading Internet Service Provider (ISP). The funding round was led by business advisory firm Cooney Carey.
Kroll link up with Dublin group
Dublin-based corporate recovery specialists McStay Luby Chartered Accountants has announced its affiliation with Kroll's Corporate Advisory & Restructuring Group.
This association will enable McStay Luby to offer a broader range of services, Jim Luby said yesterday.
Mr Luby, John McStay and Tom Rogers will remain in their management roles, and the firm will continue to meet its existing engagements.
International firm Kroll hopes to benefit from McStay Luby's knowledge of the Irish market.
First Active raises €1.8bn with bonds
First Active has launched its 10th public mortgage backed securitisation raising €1.8 billion. This brings to €7 billion, the amount of funds it has raised through issuing securitisation paper since 1998. Announcing the issue, First Active group finance director, Michael Torpey, said there continues to be very strong demand for these bonds from the international financial markets. "This latest deal reinforces the ongoing high level of international confidence in the quality of our mortgage business and the continued strength of the Irish economy in general," he said. Yesterday's issue, which was oversubscribed, is secured against a portfolio of Irish residential mortgages. The transaction was arranged by its parent, the Royal Bank of Scotland group.
Salesforce.com earns €91.68m
Salesforce.com Online customer relationship management (CRM) provider Salesforce.com, whose EMEA headquarters is located in Dublin, posted a record revenue of $118 million (€91.68 million) for the fiscal quarter ending July 31, 2006.
This represents a 64 per cent year-on-year increase, and a jump of 13 per cent from the previous quarter.
