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Ryanair goes shopping; cash for visa crash; and four financial habits to live by

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Ryanair is expected to announce a deal for as many as 200 of Boeing's largest 737 Max aircraft. Photograph: Nicholas Ansell / PA

Dominic Coyle's face
Dominic Coyle
Tue May 9 2023 - 06:47

Ryanair is reported to be close to signing a deal with aerospace giant Boeing for as many as 200 of their 737 Max 10 aircraft. Confirmation of the contract could come as soon as today with delivery of the aircraft staggered between 2027 and 2032.

A company that specialised in tapping Ireland cash for visa Immigrant Investor Programme – and also ran the Nuremore Hotel in Monaghan – owed €48 million to loan note holders when it went into liquidation last month, a court heard yesterday. Among creditors of the company run by businessman Kai Dai are the Revenue Commissioners, who are owned €682,000.

Big Four accountant EY is on the hunt for new and larger premises in Dublin city centre as the practice continues to grow, spilling out of its current Harcourt Street office cluster where leases will, in any case, end in 2027. Ian Curran reports.

Turning to the world of challenger investments, Central Bank governor Gabriel Makhlouf is clearly not a fan of cryptocurrencies, describing much investment in the area as “Ponzi schemes”. writes Ian.

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In her column, Laura Slattery suggest that the best way for RTÉ to extricate itself from the Late Late Show drama is to run a season of guest presenters. Let the chaos begin, she argues.

Fiona Reddan looks at four financial habits it is worth trying to live by for those starting out or those looking to get their personal finances back on track.

And in Q&A, we look at a family worried about the implications of selling their mother’s home while she is in long-term nursing home care and also how to go about tracking down a family will if you’re not comfortable approaching family about it.

There were a couple of legal setbacks yesterday, among them developer Hines which was refused leave to apply to the Court of Appeal to rescue its current 1,6000 home plan on the site of the former Holy Cross seminary at Clonliffe College in Drumcondra.

Another developer, Michael O’Flynn was also on the wrong side of a decision as the High Court refused to allow Ezeon – a company he owns with Ronan O’Gara and Cork publican John O’Driscoll – overturn approval for a personal insolvency agreement entered into by Mr O’Driscoll.

And Solar21, a waste to energy developer, has secured a fast-track Commercial Court listing as investors who put €240 million into its plans for a plant in Yorkshire that has been blighted by the collapse of its technology provider and rising construction costs wait for details of what if anything they can expect to receive back.

Better news for Applegreen, which has secured planning permission to construct a service area and an electrical vehicle charging hub off the M3 motorway in Co Meath at the second time of asking. Gordon Deegan has the details.

And a chapter closes with the High Court winding up Quinn Insurance DAC – the company founded by former billionaire Sean Quinn – 13 years after it was placed into administration by the then government. Aodhan O’Faolain reports that it has cost the taxpayer around €1 billion.

As he moves back to his agricultural roots, former Irish Farmers Journal editor Justin McCarthy takes issue with the trend of newspapers and journals giving their content away for free or at a deeply discounted price. He was speaking to Laura Slattery.

A majority of the public supports the vacant homes tax, according to a survey by Taxback.com, but they’re sceptical that the current low rate of charge – 0.3 per cent – will be in any way effective in helping the scheme reach its goal of bringing more capacity back into the housing market. Eoin Burke-Kennedy reports.

AstraZeneca secured permission for the proposed €326 million expansion of its Alexion site in Dublin with 19 conditions, including one that requires the firm to pay €1.8 million in planning contributions towards local public infrastructure. Gordon Deegan reports.

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