A selection of the best stories on businesspost.ie from the last seven days
Some of the Business Post’s best reporting that you might’ve missed this week
RTÉ to splash €200,000 hiring 14 interns during recruitment freeze
RTÉ is hiring 14 interns at a combined cost of almost €200,000 despite an ongoing recruitment freeze designed to cut costs at the embattled broadcaster.
The semi-state company is also advertising for two further roles in its marketing and HR divisions, bringing the total number of vacancies its seeking to fill amid the ongoing hiring pause to 16.
The internships are being advertised as 14 six-month contracts - each paid €14,178. This equates to a combined cost of €196,000.
The broadcaster announced an immediate hiring ban in September and subsequently revealed two months later that it intended to lay off roughly 400 staff.
BoI appoints new chief executive of its UK business
Bank of Ireland has announced two appointments to its senior management team, including a new chief executive of its retail business in the UK.
On Wednesday, the lender announced it has appointed Gail Goldie as chief executive of its UK business. Goldie joins Bank of Ireland UK from Tesco Bank, where she served as chief banking officer for the financial services arm of the British supermarket giant. Prior to that, she also held leadership positions in Barclays, Santander, and American Express.
Goldie’s appointment comes as the lender has been gradually reducing its exposure to the UK market over recent years.
Taoiseach dines with Sam Altman and John Collison at Davos
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar dined with many of the world’s top tech entrepreneurs at a dinner held in Davos last night with guests including OpenAI co-founder and chief executive Sam Altman.
Altman, whose company is behind ChatGPT, the popular AI chatbot, was among several techies who attended the IDA dinner held at the Hotel Grischa. Other attendees included John Collison, co-founder of Stripe, and Michael Dell.
Approximately 50 business leaders with investments in Ireland attended the dinner, held to coincide with the annual World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort town.
Judge ‘shocked’ by submissions in Michael O’Flynn’s cost application
A High Court judge has described arguments made by lawyers for property developer Michael O’Flynn as “disgraceful” as he refused an order for costs in a case conceded by a personal insolvency practitioner (PIP).
Mr Justice Alexander Owens, who has presided over the long-running row between O’Flynn and his neighbour’s personal insolvency arrangement (PIA), refused to make an order for costs against Alan McGee, the PIP.
O’Flynn, who won a Supreme Court case last year on a point of law at issue in his challenges, had sought costs against McGee over a High Court appeal.
The case concerned whether O’Flynn could prove that he had a debt of €1 and it was conceded by McGee. This means that O’Flynn is now allowed to prove that he has a debt in the case.
Ulster Rugby accused of ‘calculated move’ as it ends Kingspan partnership
Ulster Rugby is seeking a new sponsor after Kingspan, the Irish building material giant, said that it will conclude its association with the club on a phased basis by mid-2025.
The announcement of the termination of the long-running partnership comes after Jonny Petrie, Ulster Rugby’s chief executive, has said the club was conducting a “major review” of its sponsorship deal with Kingspan in October in light of a probe into the Grenfell Tower fire tragedy.
In a statement on Wednesday, Ulster Rugby confirmed described Kingspan’s departure next June as a “natural stepping off point” after almost two decades of investment.
