Smurfit subpoena, talking down tax cuts, HSE missing out on savings

K Club owner Michael Smurfit has been subpoenaed to appear at the High Court where a former employee has taken a case against him, the club and another employee over alleged threatening behaviour. Mary Carolan reports from the High Court.

Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe says that any tax cuts in Budget 2019 will not be significant. Appearing before the budget oversight committee, he also denied being at odds with his party leader, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar over the broad shape of the budget, writes Eoin Burke-Kennedy.

The generics industry says the cash-strapped health service is missing out on savings of up to €140 million a year because of Government failure to improve competition in the drugs market.

It was a good day on the jobs front with Big Four accountant EY announcing plans to hire 520 people this year, including close to 300 graduate entrants. Peter Hamilton has the details. Medical device group Becton Dickinson added 85 jobs to the originally forecast 100 as it opened its new R&D centre of excellence in Limerick.

Threat of further Ryanair strikes after inconclusive talks with union

---

Republic’s EU contributions based on ‘distorted figures’

---

Tax cuts in budget will not be significant, says Donohoe

---

Zamano advances reverse takeover talks with homebuilder

---

Meanwhile Urban Volt, the lighting group backed by former Ireland rugby star Jamie Heaslip among others, has raised €55 million to help fund ambitious international expansion plans. Barry O'Halloran has the details

The row over the appointment of inspectors to Independent News & Media continues to play out in the courts with the media group yesterday insisting its board were in now way overly deferential to major shareholder Denis O'Brien.

A new report says Ireland is still in the top quartile of countries when it comes to broadband, writes Charlie Taylor. But further reading shows that it lags most of its EU peers.

And staying with technology, Karlin Lillington asks why Ireland is so assiduously courting the data centre sector when it is can't even deliver enough energy to its domestic market without tapping foreign sources and relying heavily on fossil fuels.

Finally, for those of you travelling shortly, Ciara O'Brien has a list of the technology essentials you should pack to make sure those holidays go smoothly.