Construction bottleneck; cheese and climate; and pilots up pressure on travel

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Construction faces a further slowdown as builders’ suppliers have shut their order books this month.
Construction faces a further slowdown as builders’ suppliers have shut their order books this month.

Construction faces a further slowdown as builders' suppliers have shut their order books this month due to a deepening raw materials crisis, writes Barry O'Halloran. Growing global demand as economies reopen combined with a shortage of raw materials have squeezed supplies of insulation, plastics and other components to the construction industry.

Glanbia's planning battle over a new cheese plant in Kilkenny is part of a larger debate over sustainability and tighter climate change rules in other countries, writes Eoin Burke-Kennedy. And Ireland runs the risk of tarnishing its carefully nurtured image.

Pilots are upping pressure on the Government ahead of a Cabinet meeting tomorrow that is scheduled to discuss reopening the State to international travel, Barry reports. Pilots' union Ialpa says thousands of aviation workers face permanent unemployment if Government "procrastination" on reopening travel does not end.

For Machinery Partner, securing a spot on a prestigious accelerator programme in Boston was a big deal. But, Charlie Taylor reports, the Belfast start-up was so impressive the Techstars managing director decided to invest in the business and become its chief operating officer.

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Pilita Clark takes a look at some of the more exotic locations workers may find themselves based in the "new normal" as companies assess their work environments after the extended Covid-19 lockdown.

Finally, gender pay disparities are about to become a hot topic in Ireland thanks to Government plans to pass the Gender Pay Gap Information Bill this year, making mandatory reporting a requirement. Mercer's Danny Mansergh says 75 per cent of Irish companies believe it's a good thing.

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Dominic Coyle

Dominic Coyle

Dominic Coyle is Deputy Business Editor of The Irish Times