Restaurants’ begging bowl; relief for directors; and five ways to get ahead from home

Business Today: the best news, analysis and comment from The Irish Times business desk

One in two Irish restaurants face closure unless the Government sanctions a €1.8 billion bailout of the sector, the Restaurants Association of Ireland says. In a report commissioned from economist Jim Power, it is calling for comprehensive financial support over the next two years, writes Joe Brennan.

Directors of companies that do collapse despite their best efforts to survive the financial turmoil of Covid-19, have been given succour by the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement that they will not be restricted as a result, Joe reports.

One company that is game for the challenge is the Eccles Hotel and Spa in Glengariff which has already secured 45 per cent occupancy for July and 40 per cent for August. Proprietor Ray Byrne hopes to bring those figures up towards 70 per cent as the hotel opens its doors with newly-acquired four-star status, writes Ciarán Hancock.

But the effects of the Covid lockdown will linger, with WEEE Ireland warning that Ireland may fall short of targets for recycling electric waste just a year after it become the second best performer across the EU, as housebound families opt to bin old electricals instead. Charlie Taylor reports.

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Pilita Clark outlines five ways to get ahead in the office even if you're still working from home – but it doesn't include her experience of muttering a mild obscenity on a video call, thinking she was on mute.

Away from Covid, Chris Johns remembers Denis Goldberg, who was jailed alongside Nelson Mandela, who died recently. He wonders what he would have made of the Black Lives Matter movement and guesses that it would be that we are long past the time for mere words – including in the workplace and on recruitment.

Deloitte Ireland chief executive Harry Goddard argues that any new government will have to make some quick decisions if it is to deal with the devastating impact of the pandemic on the economy.

Finally, stockbroker Goodbody's acquisition by Bank of China has not yet been approved in Beijing but the Dublin adviser has just won its first Asian business – selling €890 million of bonds for the bank's Hong Kong branch – alongside a stellar international cast.

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Dominic Coyle

Dominic Coyle

Dominic Coyle is Deputy Business Editor of The Irish Times