Social housing conundrum; builders’ pay; and a buyer for Digicel Pacific?

Even as it weighs up a new housing policy that will move away from leasing social housing from institutional owners, figures from Minister for Housing Darragh O'Brien showuse of leasing has accelerated fairly dramatically this year. The State has leased 918 homes at a cost of €17,000 a year so far in 2021, writes Eoin Burke-Kennedy: the figure for the whole of 2020 was 989.

The housing crisis – and the fallout from the Dublin Bay South by-election – has forced Paschal Donohoe to abandon a long touted balanced-budget strategy, Eoin writes in his column. The Summer Economic Statement published last week now envisages substantial deficits and a dramatic increase in capital spending over the next four years – and the presumption is that much of it is going on housing.

That will mean plenty of work in construction. However, employers and unions seem set to clash over pay and conditions for more than 50,000 workers in the sector, writes Martin Wall. Trade unions, he says, are looking for increases of up to 4.2 per cent a year over the next three years; employers have pencilled in a much more modest inflation-matching 1.6 per cent.

Australian phone giant Telstra is reported to have made a ¤1.7 billion bid for the Pacific islands business of Denis O'Brien's Digicel telecoms group. The deal, largely funded by the Australian state, would involve Mr O'Brien joining its board and underwriting revenue forecasts for the next three years.

Sports tech company Kitman Labs makes second acquisition

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Dublin-based Prothena to sell drug to Novo Nordisk in $1.2bn deal

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Intel offers to spread $20bn chip factory investment across EU

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Ireland may support global tax deal, Donohoe says

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Back home, and a new online property platform, Lintil, is promising to streamline the homebuying process by connecting buyers with mortgage brokers, solicitors, surveyors and others all in the one place and at cheaper rates, writes Eoin Burke-Kennedy.

Sky Media, the advertising sales arm of Sky Ireland, has relaunched a business support scheme that gives companies not already advertising on tlevision €20,000 worth of time on its channels. Laura Slattery has the details.

When it comes to the world of work, many company bosses argue they need to get workers back to the office to get them more "engaged". However, Pilita Clark has come across evidence that mediocre staff are more visible when home working. Is it easier for backsliders to hide from managers' view in the office.

Finally, Brokers Ireland's Rachel McGovern argues that long-term interest-only options or the warehousing of debt are not realistic solutions for people with long-term mortgage arrears, especially older borrowers. It's time for banks to stop just kicking the debt can down the road, she argues.

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