An Garda Síochána is investigating claims that parties connected to a defaulting Nama debtor were involved in an illegal purchase of assets from the so-called bad bank, writes Joe Brennan. News of the matter emerged this week in a parliamentary question asked by Social Democrats TD, Catherine Murphy.
Dominic Coyle has news of a policy designed to help the HSE save millions of euro on its drug bill that has yet to be published – almost 18 months after a consultation process closed. The potentially lost savings, which are particularly stark in light of funding pressures within the health service, relate to the use of biosimilar, or "copycat" drugs.
A Myanmar-based electronic payments company run by businessman John Nagle has halted its operations in recent weeks, according to local reports. The business was established with backing from Denis O'Brien's Digicel, writes Barry O'Halloran.
Days after the OECD found that Irish workers are the most productive in the world, Eoin Burke-Kennedy reports on CSO figures that point to a slightly different picture. In fact, he writes, Irish workers may be only half as productive as the OECD suggested.
Our Friday Interview is Willie Walsh of IAG, who speaks to Barry O'Halloran about his plans for the airline's subsidiary Aer Lingus, the challenges of Brexit and the need for industry consolidation. He also recalls being summed up as a "cocky little b******s" at age 17.
Simon Carswell takes a trip to Rosslare Harbour, where the general manager of Rosslare Europort Glenn Carr outlines his vision for the facility becoming Ireland's "gateway to Europe" amid much Brexit preparations.
“We can take in double the number of ships here tomorrow without any real change of hardship on us; we have the capacity,” Carr says.
Mark Paul's Caveat reflects on the very particular world of Oireachtas committees, which he says can occasionally operate "like it's open house at the Willie Clancy music festival". Having watched a session of the Committee on Business where members discussed the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement this week, he goes on to ask how well equipped our corporate watchdogs really are to work out what's happening under the bonnet of the "gargantuan" asset flows coming the Republic's way because of Brexit.
In his Economics column, John FitzGerald looks at Irish pay rates and what drives them, specifically considering the relationship between the labour markets of Ireland and Britain through decades past. He also wonders how Brexit might affect the dynamic.
Our Wild Goose is David Nihill, whose career has brought him from Firhouse in Dublin to San Francisco, from where he tells Barbara McCarthy about his successful career as an author and public speaker.
And in our Work section, Olive Keogh asks why more Irish companies are not embracing the idea of flexible working arrangements. Whether it be compressed hours, annualised hours or just plain part-time hours, there are still many reasons why employers believe it "won't work in my business".
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