What it says in the papers

IRISH TIMES

- The Irish Times leads with a report that the Garda Siochána Ombudsman (Gsoc) is demanding new powers to obtain court orders forcing the Garda to surrender evidence it requires when investigating allegations of malpractice against members of the force. Gsoc said the force was still too slow in responding to some requests for evidence and documentation.

- The Irish Times reports on filings in the corporate registry in the Bahamas which indicate that businessman Denis O'Brien is linked to property on the Caribbean island resort of Canouan, where businessman Dermot Desmond has been involved in developing a hotel, villa, marina and golf complex.

- The paper says Trinity College Dublin has been omitted from one of the world's most influential university rankings after academics realised they supplied the agency with incorrect data. The error was spotted when TCD tumbled down the Times Higher Education world rankings.

- In business, the paper quotes the liquidators of Clerys as saying that the winding up of the old Dublin department store is being delayed by legal proceedings and could take a further two years to complete.

FINANCIAL TIMES

- The Financial Times leads with a report that Apple has held talks with British Formula One team owner and supercar maker McLaren Technology Group about a strategic investment plan or potential takeover. The paper says it is the latest sign of the tech giant's ambition to break into the car industry.

- The FT says British Prime Minister Theresa May's plan to shame overpaid bosses by publishing pay ratio data has hit a snag. It says officials have warned her that the calculation could produce perverse results where some big banks end up looking "fairer" than retailers such as John Lewis, which prides itself on an enlightened pay policy.

- The paper says it has seen figures showing that US drug maker Novum Pharma, which produces skin creams for common conditions such as eczema and acne, has raised the price of two of its treatments to almost $10,000 a tube in the latest instance of "gouging" in the world's largest healthcare market.

IRISH INDEPENDENT

- The Irish Independent says the threat of an all-out transport strike now looms after unions warned that bus and rail workers would join forces to bring the country to a complete standstill. With strikes at Dublin Bus and the prospect of stoppages at Bus Eireann, the quotes sources as saying as warning that rail workers will be next.

- The paper reports that plastics and environmental services group One51 is selling its Cork Metal recycling business and is understood to be in advanced talks to offload its other metals recycling operations in Ireland.

- Group chief executive of Dublin-based project management firm Limesight, Gerry Campbell, tells the Irish Independent that a stock market flotation of the company will be considered only if it is required to further accelerate the company's international expansion.

IRISH EXAMINER

- The Irish Examiner reports on a warning from Housing Minister Simon Coveney that Irish Water will receive a €660m bail-out this year but a decision to suspend water charges could have 'big consequences' for funding other services next year.

- The paper reports that a senior civil servant received a €1.119m severance package from an unknown Government department during the worst years of the recession. The figure emerged from Comptroller and Auditor General Seamus McCarthy at a meeting of the Dáil Public Accounts Committee.

- The Examiner reports that pre-tax profits at one of the country's largest independently-owned car rental firms, the Dan Dooley Motor Group, soared by 64 per cent to €1.8m last year, but it warned that spiralling insurance costs were a real concern for the car rental industry.