In Short

A round-up of today's other news stories in brief

Renewable energy firm raises €40m

Renewable energy technology firm OpenHydro has raised €40 million to design and manufacture new marine turbines that will generate energy from tidal currents.

The fresh round of funding, which brings the total money raised by the Irish firm to €50 million, will be used to develop commercially its turbine technology at its facility in Greenore, Co Louth.

The company recently won contracts to supply its technology to projects in Nova Scotia, Canada, and the Channel Islands.

It will also be the only company to have installed a tidal turbine at the European Marine Energy Centre test facility off the Orkney Islands. With support from Sustainable Energy Ireland and the Scottish Executive, OpenHydro will transport a new turbine to the site, off the island of Eday, for testing next month.

Blackrock in Scottish venture

Blackrock International Land, the property spin-off from Fyffes, has bought 300 acres of farmland in Scotland as part of a joint venture with Applecross Properties and Esk Properties.

Blackrock will contribute €3.5 million, while its joint venture partners will put the same amount into the deal, which will have an initial cost of €7 million.

The seller of the land, which is near Edinburgh, will be entitled to receive additional payments over time equal to 50 per cent of the open market value of any lands for which detailed planning consents are received.

New chief at Bord na Móna

Bord na Móna has appointed Gabriel D'Arcy as managing director. Mr D'Arcy (48) joins from Kerry Group, where he held post of commercial director, Kerry Ingredients Europe.

The chairman of Bord na Móna, Mr Fergus McArdle, said: "The board is delighted to welcome Gabriel to the company. He will bring a wealth of managerial experience to Bord na Móna and I am confident he will successfully lead the company and help it to deliver on its growth and development strategy in the months and years to come."

Mr Darcy joined Kerry Group in 1989 and has held senior positions in Kerry's dairy, ingredients and bakery divisions.

Firms report more job vacancies

The number of firms reporting unfilled job vacancies in September increased to 14 per cent from 12 per cent the previous month, according to the latest Fás/ESRI Employment and Vacancies Survey.

The largest increases in vacancies were in construction (3 per cent), services (3 per cent)and industry (1 per cent). Eight per cent of construction firms reported unfilled posts, but year-on-year vacancies in the sector have fallen 4 percentage points. The hardest posts to fill are quantity surveyors and managers.

Ninety-nine firms wound up in year

Some 99 companies have been wound up in the courts during the year to the end of September, compared to 83 for the same period last year, according to new figures from the Courts Service.