Aer Lingus set for fresh talks with pilots

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Aer Lingus pilots are moving close to possible strike action. Photograph: Picture Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

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In an effort to avert strike action at the carrier, Aer Lingus and pilots union Ialpa are to meet again on Wednesday for talks. Holidaymakers are facing a possible Aer Lingus strike during the key period of summer travel as pilots are balloted on industrial action with voting due to conclude on Wednesday. Talks between the two sides aimed at securing a deal and avoiding industrial action ended shortly after 2.30pm on Tuesday, after which Aer Lingus said “no significant progress was made”.

The Central Bank has warned that Dublin office vacancy rates could spike to as much as 26 per cent in the next two years in a severe scenario as the market continues to be subject to significant uncertainty. The bank’s central scenario is that vacancies will rise from 17 per cent at the end of last year to 18.5 per cent by 2026, it said in a special report published on Tuesday alongside its latest biannual Financial Stability Report. Joe Brennan has the details.

An assessment of the economic impact of abolishing sub-minimum wage rates for teenage workers is to be commissioned by the Government after the Low Pay Commission (LPC) recommended doing away with the reduced rates. Emmet Malone has the details.

Women in the Republic are expected to be more exposed to the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on jobs due to the over-representation of men in roles and industries considered less likely to be affected by the technology’s adoption, analysis by two Government departments suggests. Ian Curran reports.

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Apple shares jumped on Tuesday, a day after it unveiled a slew of product updates. But what exactly is it doing? Ciara O’Brien walks you through the changes.

In his column, Martin Wolf highlights how the big issues are being ignored in the UK general election campaign.

Increases to pay related social insurance (PRSI) proposed by the Government are broadly “progressive” in nature, with the burden of higher contributions falling mostly on higher income households, new research has found. Still, further increases will be required after 2028 to deal with projected deficits in the State pension. Ian Curran has read the reports.

Joe also reports that Minister for Finance Michael McGrath has warned the Republic needs to become a “welcoming home” for foreign institutional investors in order to meet the estimated €20 billion cost of meeting the Government’s new target for 50,000 homes to be built a year.

The High Court has begun hearing what is expected to be a months-long trial involving claims by aviation leasing firms over insurers’ alleged refusal to provide indemnity after billions of euro worth of aircraft were detained in Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. The world’s second and third largest lessors, SMBC and Avolon, along with BOC Aviation, CDB Aviation, NAC Aviation and Hermes, are the six plaintiff groups bringing proceedings against dozens of insurers and reinsurers such as Lloyds, Chubb, AIG and Fidelis.

European Central Bank (ECB) chief economist Philip Lane signalled a preference for caution on the pace of further rate cuts after the authority moved last week to cut official interest rates for the first time after an unprecedented spate of hikes. Joe has the story.

Developer Joe O’Reilly’s Castlethorn has lodged plans for a €192 million, 479-residential unit scheme for a site at Shanganagh, Shankill, in south Co Dublin. In the Large Scale Residential Development plans lodged with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, Castlethorn subsidiary Aeval UC is seeking a seven-year permission for the development. Gordon Deegan reports.

Revenue collected more than €4 million from settlements with 11 tax defaulters in the first three months of 2024, with four of the settlements exceeding €500,000, its latest quarterly list of tax defaulters shows. Laura Slattery reports.

In Commercial Property, Ronald Quinlan reports that docklands office block 2 Dublin Landings is set to hit the market at a more than 40 per cent discount of its most recent sale price. Ronald also reports on the planned sale by the Cosgrave family of a residential investment portfolio in Dublin priced at €4.6 million.

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