What Friday's papers say
SF would be 'full member' of coalition'; insurers urged to cut prices after profits; HSE system questioned after flaw
IRISH TIMES
- Sinn Féin's deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald has told the Irish Times the party wants to be a full member of a coalition administration, and rejected the prospect of supporting a minority government from the sidelines after the next general election.
- The paper says a fault discovered in the Health Service Executive's computer systems has become an international issue after the system's manufacturer, McKesson Medical Imaging, issued a worldwide safety notice about the problem.
- In business, the Irish Times says a company controlled by developer Johnny Ronan has been ordered by a Circuit Court judge to sell its interest in a site on Sir John Rogerson's Quay in Dublin to Marlet Property Group after a protracted legal battle.
- The paper quotes shareholder advisory firm Glass Lewis as saying that INM chief executive Robert Pitt's indication that he may vote against resolutions at an upcoming shareholder meeting is understood to "relate directly" to the re-election of chairman Leslie Buckley.
FINANCIAL TIMES
- The Financial Times leads with a warning from Bank of England Governor Mark Carney that persistent uncertainty over Britain's future relationship with the EU is holding back business investment and household spending.
- The FT says Box Options Exchange, an all-electronic equity options market, has won regulatory approval to set up an open-outcry exchange in Chicago, in stark contrast to the trend that has sent most trades to computers.
- The paper says shares in fashion chain Next rose yesterday after it sounded a tentative note of optimism despite an accelerated drop in sales.
- The FT says Britain's environment secretary Michael Gove - one of the cabinet's most vocal Brexit backers - faced accusations yesterday of giving mixed messages about the future of British fisheries after he talked positively about the potential for foreign vessels to fish in British waters.
IRISH INDEPENDENT
- The Irish Independent leads with a call from consumer groups for a big reduction in the cost of motor insurance cover, as insurance firms such as Aviva and RSA recorded a profit after years of hiking prices.
- The paper says Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has firmly ruled out any move to impose capital gains tax on the sale of family homes, a suggestion made in papers issued by Department of Finance officials which set out tax options for the Budget.
- In business, the Irish Independent says a British company connected to Dublin-based property developer Victoria Homes is planning to raise up to €50m by issuing bonds to fund the construction of thousands of homes around the capital.
- The paper says Dublin-based aircraft lessor AerCap has beaten earnings expectations after posting net income of $282.9m (€238.1m) in the second quarter of the year as it made big gains from jet sales.
IRISH EXAMINER
- The Irish Examiner has an interview with Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghail in which he says he is "frightened" by groupthink, in the wake of what he termed "robust" criticism of the Garda commissioner Nóirín O'Sullivan, though he concedes that she still has a lot of work to do to regain the confidence of the public.
- The paper says the reliability of the HSE's entire software system has been called into question by computer science expert Professor Barry O'Sullivan, after an IT flaw affecting 25,000 medical scans was detected.
- In business, the Examiner quotes the head of the Irish Travel Agents Association as saying that long delays for holidaymakers at major European airports including Dublin could lead to opportunities for smaller airports like Cork or Shannon.
- The paper reports that the closure of HMV's store network helped drag the Irish arm of music label Universal into the red last year, with pre-tax losses of €642,304 after a profit of €1.6m in 2015.
