The Department of Finance and Central Bank are proposing the establishment of a rescue fund to bail out bust insurers as part of a proposed new resolution regime for the sector, which would ultimately be funded by policyholders, according to the Sunday Times.
A consultation paper on the matter proposes that the Central Bank be given a much stronger hand in the matter when big insurers end up in administration or liquidation, according the report. It also proposes an overhaul of the existing insurance compensation fund.
Energy strain may hit State’s Intel plant chances
The Republic’s mounting energy infrastructure and waste challenges could hit its chances of securing a new multibillion-euro Intel microchip facility, according to the Business Post. Intel said earlier this month that the State was running for the plant, which could possibly lead to 10,000 jobs.
The report said that Poland and Germany had been shortlisted alongside Ireland, but that Germany was believed to be in pole position to secure the facility due to energy supply concerns amid a surge in data centres and the increased electrification of the economy.
State to import new electricity generators
The Business Post also reports that the Commission for Regulation of Utilities will write to Eirgrid this week telling it to go ahead with plans to secure hundreds of millions of euro worth of emergency energy generations for winter 2022-23. It comes after efforts to secure the generators for this winter were abandoned last month for a number of reasons.
Such emergency generators will be needed for a number of years as the State’s power sector tries to catch up with soaring demand, the report states.
Air traffic controllers warn of staffing crisis
Up to 160 Irish air traffic controllers have written to Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan warning that the system is in crisis and that staffing issues have led to an “increase risk of an air incident or accident”, the Sunday Independent reports.
The newspaper said the traffic controllers claimed that an over-reliance on overtime to run the service had become a safety issue. It claimed that short gaps in the roster had resulted in Cork and Shannon airports being temporarily affected in July, while closure at Dublin Airport had been narrowly averted in August.
The Irish Aviation Authority told the newspaper that it refuted the allegations in the letter "in their entirety".
Dublin-based fintech Scalapay’s valuation hits $700m
The Sunday Independent also reports that Scalapay, a buy-now-pay later company that has its headquarters in Ireland, has reached a valuation of $700 million (€597 million) under a $155 million equity funding round.
The new funding will help Scalapay, which is effectively managed from Milan, scale internationally and launch new products to support luxury, fashion and travel merchants.
