“Insurers facing new round of legal action as more businesses sue over Covid” is the splash on this week’s Business Post. Peter O’Dwyer reports that insurers are facing a “fresh wave of litigation” over their refusal to payout on Covid-19 business interruption policies with hospitality firms plotting to bring new tests cases to the courts.
Also on the cover of this week’s paper is news of a major stimulus plan for Ireland’s beleaguered hospitality sector. In an interview with the paper, Taoiseach Mícheál Martin said the government was putting together a package aimed at keeping the 180,000 people working in hotels, pubs and restaurants in jobs.
A sector that doesn’t have to worry about job losses is the civil service, and in another front page story it’s reported that the country’s highest paid civil servants are actually in line for pay increases. Aiden Corkery reports that 18 secretaries general, who already earn in excess of €200,000 p.a., are in line to get rises of up to €38,000 as part of the restoration of cuts taken during the financial crash.
On page three, Rosanna Cooney and Aaron Rogan have an update on the case of Richard O’Halloran, the Irish businessman currently detained in China. They report that progress has been made on securing O’Halloran’s return to Ireland writing that a “legal and financial” solution is being worked on.
There’s lots of comment and analysis in this week’s business pages about the shock news that KBC is seeking to exit Ireland by selling up to Bank of Ireland. According to the Business Post’s analysis, negotiations between the two sides are “well advanced” and could be completed “within months.”
In brief
· West Wood Club has invested more than €300,000 to create more outdoor exercise areas
· Scooter rental company Dott has called for car parking spaces to be given over to e-scooters
· Cork-based payment platform Trustap is seeking to raise up to €8m by the end of the year
· Business software company Clearworld plans to hire up to 30 staff by the end of the year
· An hourly train service between Dublin and Belfast could be running by 2024 said Translink