Court to hear five separate Web Summit actions

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Dominic Coyle deals with a  question from a reader about topping up his UK pension and whether the backlog of applications will affect him. And he advises another to apply straight away as the deal is a no-brainer.
Dominic Coyle deals with a question from a reader about topping up his UK pension and whether the backlog of applications will affect him. And he advises another to apply straight away as the deal is a no-brainer.

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Opening statements are expected to be heard in the High Court on Tuesday in a civil trial involving Web Summit chief executive Paddy Cosgrave and two minority shareholders in the business.

The judge, Mr Justice Michael Twomey, will hear five separate legal actions, potentially over nine weeks, after a last-chance effort to mediate the disputes and avoid a costly trial fell apart in Dublin last week. Ian Curran has the details.

“He was both charismatic and successful. He was a guy who was well respected around town. There were so many people who invested with him, from sports figures to professionals. He had a very, very successful business.”

The speaker, who does not wish to be identified, was talking about Harry Cassidy (68), the onetime chief executive officer of Custom House Capital who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud in 2023 and was sentenced to six years and 10 months in jail. Colm Keena reports on the catastrophic fall of Custom House Capital.

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Belfast Harbour will welcome an expected 325,000 people and 10 new ships this year as part of its cruise season, an indication of the city’s “growing status” as a destination for the industry, the port operator said on Monday.

The freight and passenger hub, which is part of the Trust Port network and operated as an independent statutory body, said some 31 different cruise lines will travel in and out of the port over the seven-month cruise season, beginning on March 30th. Ian Curran reports.

As house prices continue to rise, and affordability takes a correlating knock, aspiring homebuyers are looking at all options for acquiring their own place. However, while more affordable than larger properties, acquiring a one-bed home has its own challenges.

So why are there different rules for one-bed apartments? And do all lenders think the same way? Here Fiona Reddan takes a look at the specific challenges involved in buying a one-bed home in Ireland today.

‘My plan is to make sure Smurfit Westrock is one of the great companies of the world’: Tony Smurfit on taking the family business global

Listen | 45:06

There’s nothing magnificent about the magnificent seven stocks in 2025. All but one (Meta) have suffered double-digit percentage declines, ranging from 10 per cent (Microsoft) to 37 per cent (Tesla).

That affects investors everywhere. At the end of 2024, the seven stocks accounted for a third of the S&P 500 and almost a quarter of the MSCI World index, writes Proinsais O’Mahony.

Dominic Coyle deals with a question from a reader about topping up his UK pension and whether the backlog of applications will affect him. And he advises another to apply straight away as the deal is a no-brainer.

Dublin fintech firm Alt21 has raised a further $12.5 million (€11.4 million) in funding as it bids to become a major player in the foreign exchange (FX) payments market. Eoin Burke-Kennedy reports.

The company, which utilises high-frequency trading technology to streamline the FX process and reduce , said it would use the additional funding to extend its global reach and and “introduce new products beyond FX”.

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