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A decision due next month on airplane landing slots at Dublin Airport could cut passenger numbers by up to one million next summer, airlines fear, as the regulator seeks to ensure a planning limit is enforced. There is already a cap for this winter but, as Barry O’Halloran reports, a draft decision by the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) in September could bring more bad news for airlines, passengers and the tourism economy.
Truck drivers have complained about the quality of green fuel clogging up their engines and costing them money in repairs. It didn’t take long for the suppliers to hit back. Barry O’Halloran, who reported on the initial complaints from the Irish Road Haulage Association, has the details of rebuttal from Fuels for Ireland.
Longford’s Center Parcs’ popularity with Irish families has never been in question but it can be illustrated more clearly with numbers. Latest accounts for the forest resort show it takes in almost €1.9 million per week with its blended offering of accommodation rental, retail and activity purchase. Revenues at the Irish site rose to €96.7 million in the year to April 2024, compared to €87.4 million the year before.
The Government’s most recent sale of AIB stock would not force it to revisit its sometimes controversial salary cap for senior staff, according to documents obtained by Ken Foxe. Department officials briefed former minister for finance Michael McGrath on the details, also advising him to move on the sale ahead of the Budget. That sale ultimately realised €593 million for the Exchequer.
Gordan Deegan reports on a second proposed funeral home for Dundrum receiving planning permission, meaning that when opened the south Dublin suburb will have three branches. Fanagans Funeral Directors, which already has a presence in the area, secured planning for a funeral home in Willowfield Park, just weeks after Massey Bros confirmed it is set to open its tenth Dublin branch beside Charlie Chawke’s nearby Goat Bar and Grill.
Ian Curran reports on US private equity firm Lone Star’s sale of its Irish property business Quintain to Texas firm TPG. The circa-€200 million deal has been in the making for some time now, and includes Dublin land holdings as well as the Quintain Developments Ireland (QDI) platform.
Meanwhile, warehousing and freight transport business Virginia International Logistics is set to buy Kilkenny-based freight firm Allmed. Ian Curran looks at the deal which, once approved by the competition watchdog, would see the creation of what the firms call a one-stop shop for transport, distribution and warehousing services.
A new report suggests forthcoming regulations could see at least a doubling of reported data breaches. As reported by Colin Gleeson, the Compliance Institute has made its prediction on the effects of EU laws surrounding cybersecurity due to come into effect next year. For financial services firms across Europe, they will mean a whole new standards regime in the areas of protection, detection, containment, recovery and response capabilities for ICT-related incidents.
Mega-earning CEOs are not usually found in the food and drinks sector but that has all changed thanks to the latest surprise news from US coffee chain Starbucks. Incoming boss Brian Niccol has landed a package of cash and stock potentially worth more than €102 million as he attempts to improve the fortunes of the Seattle-based company. Oh, and he won’t have to move there either with part of his deal supplying a California office about 1,100 miles away.
In the 1930s Irish people ate about two kilos of bananas a year – today they purchase about 17 kilos. What does it all mean? In his column, John Fitzgerald looks at how the emergence of the EU single market came at a cost for banana lovers. With France and the UK insisting on protections for their ex-colonies’ banana supply, the price of the much loved fruit rose here by about a half.
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