What Thursday's papers say
Rent crisis putting off tech workers; European healthcare group's €25m Irish plan; bid to tone down N Korea war of words
IRISH TIMES
- The Irish Times says only seven Dublin property owners have applied for grants of up to €40,000 to allow their rundown vacant houses to be refurbished for homeless families. The Repair and Leasing scheme was set up ten months ago.
- The paper reports on results yesterday from the state's biggest landlord, Ires Reit, which told investors rents were poised to keep rising as the squeeze on housing continues.
- The Irish Times quotes Tourism Ireland as saying that spending by North American tourists in Ireland is expected to surpass that of British visitors this year. A decline in the value of sterling meant British visitors dropped by 6.4 per cent in the first half of this year, but numbers from North America were up 21.6 per cent.
- The paper quotes Gary Mullan, managing director of tech recruitment firm Prosperity, as saying that an increasing number of tech professionals are turning down job offers in Ireland because of the cost and availability of rental accommodation.
FINANCIAL TIMES
- The Financial Times says US secretary of state Rex Tillerson has tried to tone down a war of words between his country and North Korea, saying there was no "imminent threat" from Pyongyang and that "Americans should sleep well at night".
- The FT says Altice, the cable and telecoms group controlled by billionaire Patrick Drahi, is lining up a potential $185 billion bid for Charter Communications, the second-largest US cable company.
- The paper reports that Vantiv has struck a deal to buy British payments processing rival WorldPay for £9.3 billion after weeks of negotiations to create the biggest company in the industry by number of transactions.
- The FT says Abu Dhabi has launched a boycott of western banks with significant Qatari shareholders - such as Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and Barclays - broadening the impact of a two-month embargo on the gas-rich state by four Arab countries.
IRISH INDEPENDENT
- The Irish Independent says Kevin O'Connell, the lead investigator behind the probe into former Anglo boss Seán FitzPatrick, is now advising the state on the issue of employment law. The FitzPatrick case collapsed dramatically, with the trial having heard that O'Connell shredded documents relevant to the investigation while serving as legal advisor to the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement.
- The Irish Independent says a major international study has found that of all the countries in the world that have a blasphemy law, Ireland's is the least restrictive.
- In business, the Irish Independent reports that the Irish arm of European healthcare clinic chain Affidea is planning to invest €25m here over the next couple of years as it expands its number of clinics and rolls out new patient services.
- The paper quotes insiders as saying that high-level contacts between senior figures at Cantor Fitzgerald and Merrion Capital do not mean a deal is imminent. US-owned Cantor Fitzgerald lost out three years ago in a takeover battle for Merrion which was won by a bid led by members of the firm's own management.
IRISH EXAMINER
- The Irish Examiner says the Department of Health spent almost €100,000 designing and seeking the public's opinion on proposed new alcohol labels. The use of external consultants has been described as a "waste of money" by Fianna Fáil.
- The paper reports that capacity constraints at An Bord Pleanála, which are causing delays in planning appeals and applications, have not affected a decision to again defer the decision date on plans for a controversial commercial incinerator in Cork Harbour to September 12.
- In business, the Examiner reports on figures from Irish Multiplex Cinemas Ltd, one of the cinema firms owned by the Ward family, which show that blockbusters including Batman v Superman and Dead Pool helped boost profits last year by 33 per cent to €1.28m.
- The paper quotes Michael Rochford of Motorcheck.ie as saying that the number of imported vehicles from Britain will continue to rise as British motorists increasingly turn away from diesel and look to sell.
