Oil prices climbed overnight, moving away from a seven-week low touched in the previous session, after the US military launched new strikes against Iran and as market data showed another large draw in US crude stocks.
Brent futures rose 66 cents, or 0.7 per cent, to $92.11 a barrel at 4.06am Irish time, while US West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 60 cents, or 0.7 per cent, to $88.80.
At home, the State’s fiscal watchdog has said the Government will need to borrow in the coming years to fund commitments to two sovereign wealth funds that were originally created to capture windfall corporation tax receipts, as it pursues the fastest spending growth in the European Union. Joe Brennan reports.
Meanwhile, nights spent in tourist accommodation in Ireland jumped dramatically more than in any other EU state in the first three months of the year, according to data published by Eurostat.
A 35.3 per cent increase in tourism nights in Ireland compared to the same time last year dwarfed the next best performer, Malta, which saw an 11.1 per cent increase.
At its heart, the row about public-only consultants doing private work at the Rotunda Hospital was about who controls the State’s 16 voluntary hospitals. Is it the taxpayer who funds these institutions to the tune of €5 billion a year or their self-perpetuating boards of directors? John McManus teases out the issues in his column this morning.
In other news, energy industry veteran Tim Cowhig is leading a business that plans to invest around €2 billion in a green hydrogen project meant to boost renewables use. Barry O’Halloran has the story.
In commercial property, strong interest from both developers and hotel operators is expected in the upcoming sale of an aparthotel site with full planning permission for 122 units in Sandyford, Dublin 18.
The site, in the heart of Sandyford Business District, is being brought to the market by joint agents Cushman & Wakefield and Browne Corrigan, quoting more than €3.65 million.
Elsewhere, a former hostel on Dublin’s Lower Gardiner Street is being brought to the market with a guide price of €2.975 million.
Located at 5 Beresford Place and 55 Lower Gardiner Street, Dublin 1, Paddy’s Palace hostel is a substantial hospitality asset. The prime city centre property offers significant development potential for a variety of uses, including hostel, hotel, co-living, or student accommodation.
Staying with property news, a couple buying their first home have missed out on a tax refund up to €30,000 under the Help to Buy scheme over what they claim was a “typographical error” made by their valuer.
The Tax Appeals Commission has dismissed the first-time buyers’ appeal against a Revenue Commissioners’ decision last September to refuse the couple their Help to Buy application.
In better news, bonus season has arrived. Shops and restaurants are busier, and bank balances are suddenly healthier as companies wrapping up their financial year complete staff performance reviews and make payouts. If you’re one of the lucky ones getting a windfall, how should you spend it? Joanne Hunt has the answers.
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Finally, CameraMatics, an Irish tech company that uses AI to make fleet vehicles safer, has secured €49 million of investment from a consortium led by UK investment firm Blume Equity, the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund and AIB’s Goodbody Capital Partners.
