A day after the Minister for Communications, Denis Naughten had an unwelcome day in the Dáil sun, it emerges this morning that the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland sees "no requirement" to review its determination that Denis O'Brien does not control Independent News & Media. Mark Paul and Simon Carswell report on authority's position, which was stated in response to a call for a review from the National Union of Journalists.
The INM story also features on this week's Inside Business podcast, where Simonand Mark discuss the latest developments. Eoin Burke-Kennedy meanwhile tells host Ciarán Hancock that hopes for a giveaway budget look like being dashed in the wake of the Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe's latest pronouncements.
Dominic Coyle brings news of a planning application from pharma giant MSD for the construction of a major new biotech plant in Swords, Co Dublin. The facility, which is expected to employ some 350 people, is to be built on a site previously earmarked by MSD for disposal.
Food groups Glanbia, Lakeland and United Dairy Farmers could bid for Northern milk processor Lacpatrick, which wants to merge or join forces with another player, with the move stemming from a number of approaches from other parties. Barry O'Halloran reports.
Karlin Lillington went home to San Francisco this week to take in the annual RSA security conference, an event known for capturing the tech zeitgeist, sometimes without even trying. This year, a shortage in female speakers at RSA (and reflected in many parts of the technology business) gave rise to a counter event featuring mostly women, which Karlin found include a group of "shamefully overlooked pool of diverse talent".
It's not quite California but Ciara O'Brien took a trip to the midlands to discover more about what happens after we recycle our old, unloved electrical goods in favour of shiny new models. Amid a giant pile of old vacuum cleaners and heaters, she spoke to the people behind KMK Metals Recycling, one of the companies tasked with recovering recyclable material from our previously loved devices.
In our Innovation section, Chris Horn profiles a space-age Irish student group that is making a pitch for an Elon Musk challenge seeking prototypes for an alternative sealed pipe design for trains. As the Éirloop team members prepare to ship their design to Los Angeles, Chris looks back on the team's earlier days, which included finding interested parties by pasting notices on toilet doors in institutes of technology.
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