Executive pay booms; social housing fails to deliver; and TikTok withdraws a job offer

The pay packages of the chief executives at Ireland's top listed companies jumped last year to almost double pre-Covid levels, writes Joe Brennan, fuelled by bonuses as companies' earnings and share prices advanced globally on the back of economic stimulus from central banks and governments during the pandemic

Almost 80 per cent of new-build social homes delivered last year were acquired from private sector developers with just 20 per cent were supplied directly by local authorities or Approved Housing Bodies, according to Department of Housing data, reports Eoin Burke-Kennedy. The 5,142 new social homes delivered was well below the Government's original 9,500 target.

The IMF has slashed its forecast for global growth this year on the back of Russia's war in Ukraine, while warning that heightened levels of inflation now pose a significant risk to low-income households in many countries. Eoin has the details.

Irish property developer Sean Dunne and his ex-wife Gayle Killilea are asking a US court in separate filings to fire the trustee in their long-running American bankruptcy case, accusing him of looking to increase his fees. Lawyer for the trustee say the latest filings are simply an exercise by the two applicant at "delay and avoidance of their responsibilities". Chris Hoffman has the story.

Big tech hits back against State for moves to make directors liable for harm

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Drogheda site with planning for 150-bedroom nursing home for auction at €2m

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Chips not down for Wexford man running US semiconductor giant

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Motor dealer made illegal deductions from worker’s pay over crash

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Figures from the Central Bank meanwhile show that Irish consumers flocked back to shops and restaurants last month with card spending, including ATM withdrawals, up 30 per cent in February compared with the same month last year. Colin Gleeson looks at the figures.

Senior Central Bank officials have defended their approach to the authorisation of financial firms shortly after Revolut announced it had dropped plans to use an Irish e-money licence. Bank chiefs told its commission, or board, that the process had seen high volume levels in recent times alongside new and highly varied business models, increasingly complex product offerings and new entrants inexperienced in regulatory risk and compliance. Joe Brennan reports.

TikTok's Irish unit withdrew a job offer from a woman who asked questions about her contract. However, because she never started working with the group, the Workplace Relations Commission has decided it has no jurisdiction to ear her case, writes Stephen Bourke.

But the commission did order an Athlone motor dealer to pay almost €4,000 to a former staff member after it deducted a quarter of his pay for four months without consent to pay for a crashed vehicle and never gave him a contract.

Golden Discs is opening a new "concept store" at its flagship Dundrum Town Centre location in Dublin this weekend, with a focus on merchandise to meet what chief executive Stephen Fitzgerald says is a growing market in recent years. Colin Gleeson reports.

And one in five of the 111 homes planned for a development outside Claregalway must be reserved for Irish speakers, An Bord Pleanála has ruled. Gordon Deegan finds out why.

An Bord Pleanála has also granted Cairn Homes fast-track planning permission for a 730-unit apartment scheme on a site east of Belmayne Avenue, Parkside, in Dublin 1 over the objections of local residents, many of whom have bought their homes in the past 18 months, Gordon writes.

Dublin Port reported an increase of almost 14 per cent in freight volumes in the first quarter of the year but port boss Eamonn O'Reilly does not expect to return to pre-Brexit levels for another year or two, writes Simon Carswell.

Ireland's regional airports will get more than ¤16 million in capital funding to help improve infrastructure supporting safety, security and sustainability projects. Among the project proposals, writes Ciara O'Brien, are solar farms, electrification of airport vehicles, airside and airport staff electric vehicle charging facilities, and more energy efficient lighting at the airports.

And pressure is mounting on Moderna and Pfizer to share vaccine technology with the developing world after the two biggest proxy advisers lent support to shareholder resolutions. Meanwhile, rival Johnson & Johnson has suspended its guidance for Covid-19 vaccine sales because of unclear demand and global supply surplus.

In her column, Elaine Moore writes that regardless of whether Elon Musk wins, loses, or simply loses interest, things will never be the same for Twitter.

Ronald Quinlan in Commercial Property reports that Irish housebuilder Lioncor is on course to secure about €92 million from the sale of hundreds of new homes it is developing near Bray, Co Wicklow, to approved housing body (AHB) Co-Operative Housing Ireland.

And he reports that Bank of Ireland's landmark Dún Laoghaire branch on Upper Georges Street has been sold to a private Irish investors for €2.5 million after a process that drew interest from 50 parties.

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