The state’s planned takeover of private hospitals due to Covid-19 has been thrown into doubt according to this week’s Business Post. Susan Mitchell reports that the plan has hit a snag after consultants voiced concerns over plans to switch them to public contracts for the duration of the pandemic.The UK’s Brexit transition period should be extended to avoid trade “mayhem” according to a report on page two of the paper. It comes as the EU and the UK formally agreed to resume negotiations over Brexit next week.
On page four, it’s reported that Ireland is set to miss its renewable energy targets and ranks 26th out of 28 European countries on progress so far. The findings are contained in a new report from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland being published this week.
Staying with the environment, and Ryanair was the seventh biggest polluter in the EU last year according to new data published by the Emissions Trading Scheme. Interestingly, of the top ten carbon emitters in the EU in 2019, Ryanair is the only one that is not a large coal power plant.
On page 26, there is an opinion piece by Dr. Brian Keegan, director of public policy at Chartered Accountants Ireland calling for cash infusions for businesses beyond the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions. “The key guidance from accountancy is clear: nothing kills a business quicker than a lack of cashflow,” he writes.
On page six, Ian Guider reports that the Central Bank has heightened its scrutiny of Ireland’s funds industry in the wake of last month’s financial market turmoil. Guider writes that Gabriel Makhlouf, the Central Bank governor, said the level of non-bank financial intermediation in Ireland warranted “extra attention” to determine if it could pose a risk to the financial system.
In another story involving Makhlouf, the Central Bank has predicted that consumer spending could plummet by as much as €2.6bn in April compared to the same month last year. It comes after Makhlouf warned in a blog post that: “The global economy faces a sharp slowdown which is projected to be worse than the global financial crisis.”
Killian Woods and Tine-Marie O’Neill look the prospects for the retail sector which lobby group Retail Excellence says could suffer 110,000 permanent job-losses from the pandemic. “Considerable resilience will be required to weather the economic downturn expected in the latter half of this year,” they write.
In Brief
- Irish fruit growers plans to fly in 1,500 seasonal workers to pick fruit during the pandemic
- The number of vehicles being declared off the road in March was up 25% compared to last year
- Sports footwear brand Asics plans to open its first standalone store in Dublin later this year
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