Navigating the health insurance system can feel difficult at the best of times, and a new report from the sector’s watchdog makes clear it’s not all in our heads. The market here has grown too complicated and is overwhelming consumers, working against their best interests and seeing many paying over the odds for cover, according to the Health Insurance Authority. Conor Pope reports that the HIA has said legislative changes may be needed to simplify the market with its new chief executive Brian Lee committing to taking whatever steps are needed to ensure consumers get the best value for money in the future.
Corporate insolvencies were up 60 per cent in the third quarter with the annual figur
e likely to be at its highest level since 2017, according to Deloitte. There were 238 corporate insolvencies in the quarter, which brought the total number of insolvencies for the year to date to 650, which represents an increase of 36 per cent compared to the same period in 2023. Colin Gleeson has the story.
Colin also reports that wages are likely to grow by an average of 4.5 per cent next year as the economy rebounds sharply from a minor contraction this year, according to a report by EY. It says the Irish economy is “continuing to perform well” in spite of flat headline gross domestic product, with strong domestic growth and buoyant tax receipts, combined with record numbers in employment and low inflation for the rest of the year and into 2025.
Buying a home is one of the most important, and stressful, events of most people’s lives. And it’s getting even harder. In Money Matters, Joanne Hunt walks you through the process of getting on the property ladder.
Some of Ardagh Group’s bonds have crept higher in recent days amid hopes the packaging group will be able to slice the top off its $12.5 billion (€11.2 billion) debt pile with an imminent sale of its 42 per cent-owned food and speciality metal cans joint venture. Joe Brennan has the details.
In his column, Martin Sandbu looks at Mario Draghi’s report on EU competitiveness published earlier this month and asks: what, exactly, is Europe’s foreign economic policy?
China’s central bank has unveiled a broad package of stimulus measures, cutting the cost of existing mortgages and lowering a key interest rate. The measures, which will also make lending easier by cutting the amount of cash banks need to hold in reserve, come amid warnings that China could miss its gross domestic product (GDP) growth target for 2024 of about 5 per cent. Denis Staunton reports.
State bodies like the Land Development Agency are “sucking up” spatial planners “like a basking shark”, a construction industry conference heard on Tuesday, leaving local authorities and the private sector hungry for talent. Ian Curran reports.
A Nepalese migrant worker who was on a “grossly excessive” 70-hour week at a Co Kerry takeaway and paid well under the minimum wage has won more than €23,000 in compensation. Colm Keena was at the hearing.
Dublin City Council has refused planning permission for a new hotel scheme for Baggot Street after the five-star Merrion Hotel and local residents objected to the plans. Peachbeach UC, a company connected to businessman Eamon Waters, last month lodged plans for a 66-bedroom hotel and 23 apartments over six storeys for 15-16 Lower Baggot Street. But the council has now turned down the plans on the basis that it would be overly dominant in the area. Gordon Deegan has read the decision.
CRH has picked chief financial officer Jim Mintern to succeed Albert Manifold, who had pursued record deal-making over the past 11 years to move the traditional seller of cement and other base materials into full-scale construction services. Joe has the story.
After Italian bank UniCredit caught the German government by surprise when it disclosed a big stake Commerzbank, Derek Scally demonstrates that extreme discomfort in Berlin around the prospect of an Italian firm taking over one of Germany’s biggest lenders.
The Irish arm of Cartamundi, the board game manufacturer, paid out more than €14 million in redundancy payments after it closed down its Irish operation last year, new financial accounts show. Barry J Whyte reports.
In Commercial Property, Ronald Quinlan reports that the Brooklodge and Macreddin Village resort in Co Wicklow is on the market for €17 million, while the Grafton Street premises formally occupied by Ted Baker is available to rent for €500,000 per year.
Ronald also has details of the landmark Nuremore Hotel in Co Monaghan going on the block, while Lucan Shopping Centre is on the market with an asking price of close to €28 million.
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