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Paddy Power’s redundancy row, EY Ireland’s revenues, and what next for Web Summit?

The best news, analysis and comment from The Irish Times business desk

One worker who has spent most of their career with Paddy Power has branded its redundancy offer “a disgrace”. Photograph: Getty Images

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Úna McCaffrey
Fri Oct 27 2023 - 06:30

Paddy Power workers leaving the chain following betting shop closures say the company is offering redundancy amounting to little more than the legal minimum. Barry O’Halloran has more on the story, reporting that one worker who has spent most of their career with the business has branded the offer “a disgrace”.

EY Ireland’s revenues climbed 31 per cent to €705 million in the 12 months to the end of June amid “strong” growth in the professional services giant’s assurance, consulting, tax and law divisions, writes Ian Curran. EY said its strategy and transactions arm also had a successful year.

Ian also reports that first-time buyers remain the most active cohort within the Irish mortgage market. The latest data from the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland shows that this group drew down €1.9 billion in home loans in the three months to the end of September, the highest third-quarter level since the Celtic Tiger era.

After more than a week horribilis for Web Summit founder Paddy Cosgrave, Ciara O’Brien takes a deep dive into the events company, asking where it goes from here in the wake of his resignation as chief executive. She notes that Mr Cosgrave retains 81 per cent of the business, which may not be popular with some entities considering future involvement with it.

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The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland have issued new guidance to social media influencers, telling them they must use the hashtags “#ad” and “#gifted” in their commercial posts as other labels may be too confusing. Laura Slattery has more details on the framework.

Laura also has the latest data on how we listen to the radio, writing that almost half of adults own a smart speaker following a “relatively rapid” period of growth, according to a report published by radio industry body Radiocentre Ireland.

If autumn is getting you down, the good news is you can rent Denis O’Brien’s superyacht. The bad news is, it comes at a price, writes John Burns, who also brings news of Hugo Boss falling foul of Dublin City Council, Keith Wood’s planning application, and more.

John FitzGerald reflects on the State’s plans for dealing with the floods that will become a much more common weather feature because of climate change. He argues that planning for the necessary infrastructure needs to begin today to ensure it is not too late, as it was in the case of Midleton in Co Cork this week.

Our feature interview is with Chevron boss Mike Wirth, who confidently states that the fossil fuels company is “not selling a product that is evil”.

And finally, is working from home as productive as it’s cracked up to be? Olive Keogh finds that the data is mixed, depending on context, the type of work being done and, as always, the individual involved.

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