BUSINESS NEWS
Employers will be compelled to pay sick pay to employees from 2022, with a 10-day staff entitlement envisaged by 2025. Timber merchant Brooks, established in 1750, could return to Irish ownership for the first time since 1982, if the CCPC permits Murdock’s acquisition of the business from its Welsh owners
COVID GRANTS
Micro enterprises operating from non-rated premises can apply for the Small Business Assistance Scheme for Covid grants until July 21 from local authorities. Businesses with annual turnover above €50,000 are eligible for a €4,000 grant, while firms with €20,000 to €50,000 turnover qualify for €1,000.
SICK PAY RULES
The government is to phase in mandatory sick pay over the next four years. Sick pay will be paid by employers at a rate of 70% of an employee’s wage, subject to a daily threshold of €110. From 2022 the entitlement will be three paid sick days, increasing to five days in 2023, seven days in 2024 and 10 days from 2025.
FLEXIBLE MBA
Trinity College Dublin’s business school has introduced a twoyear distance learning Master of Business Administration degree, with 80% online and 20% oncampus learning. Applications are now open for the Flexible Executive MBA, which will bring together students from around the world via the Matrix Room, an interactive hub developed for the programme.
PERJURY LAW
Business group ISME has welcomed the passage of a new perjury law through the Oireachtas. The business lobby group hopes the law will counter exaggerated and false personal injury claims.
RECHARGE LOAN
Linked Finance has introduced a new ‘Recharge’ loan to provide hospitality businesses with up to €50,000 to help reopen, restock and rehire as pandemic restrictions are eased. The term of the Recharge loan is 13 months, with no repayment in the first month. It’s open to pubs, restaurants, accommodation providers, and cafés. Microfinance Ireland says it received c.360 loan applications in Q1 and approved €2.4m in loans. The average loan size was €15,000.
PHARMA JOBS
APC in south Dublin is adding 120 jobs at its base in Cherrywood. The company says a new subsidiary with a focus on vaccine and advanced therapeutics will create 70 jobs. This qualifies for state aid through the Covid-19 Products Scheme. In Cork, SimoTech plans 70 new hires over the next two years. The company said 20 of the roles will support a vaccine project in Singapore.
PALLAS REBRAND
Pallas Foods, which has been part of the Sysco Group since 2009, has rebranded as Sysco Ireland. The foodservice supplier has spent €8m upgrading its site in Newcastle West and a new facility in Cork.
Two new facilities are planned for Galway and Belfast.
MURDOCK DEAL
Murdock Builders Merchants has acquired Brooks Timber and Building Supplies, and Dublin Plywood and Veneer. The vendor was Welsh business Premier Forest Group, which acquired the businesses in 2012 and 2013, after the property market crash.
ENTERPRISE PLANS
Government has commenced consultations to develop Regional Enterprise Plans, starting with the Dublin region. Nine REPs are envisaged and an oversight group has been established to monitor their implementation until 2024.
FDI JOBS
Ireland attracted 165 Foreign Direct Investment projects in 2020, according to EY, down from 191 the year before. The US accounted for 58% of projects, followed by the UK (17%) and Germany (5%).
TripActions, a cloud-based travel and spend management platform, has opened a dedicated sales hub in Dublin. The US firm said that the Dublin location will be a dedicated sales office that will serve international clients, with support in multiple languages.
Moonshot, a data analytics company, is establishing a software development centre in Dublin, with the promise of 37 new roles over the next three years. The venture was founded in London in 2015 by Irish entrepreneur Ross Frenett and Vidhya Ramalingam from the US. The company recently raised €5.8m in venture capital.
BAUER TAKEOVER
Bauer Media Audio has completed its acquisition of Communicorp, Ireland’s largest commercial radio group. Stations under new ownership include Today FM, Newstalk, Spin 1038 and 98FM.
VIRGIN WIFI
Virgin Media Business has rolled out a public WiFi service to more than 30 locations in Dublin as part of the WiFi4EU initiative. Under a three-year partnership with Dublin City Council, the free-to-use service will offer speeds of up to 500MB per second.
EU PPE
The European Commission is providing Ireland with funding of €311m relating to past and future purchase of Personal Protective Equipment for public health facilities. The funding has been sourced through the European Regional Development Fund.
APPOINTMENTS
Professor Orla Feely has been inaugurated as the president of Engineers Ireland. She is VP for research, innovation and impact, and a professor of electronic engineering at UCD.
Paul Hackett, managing director of Click&Go, has been selected as president of the Irish Travel Agents Association.
Former Eircom CEO Herb Hribar has been appointed chairman of Getvisibility. The company closed a €2.1m fundraiser recently.
William Walsh has been appointed as CEO of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland. Des McCarthy has been appointed CEO of Microfinance Ireland.
GAME ON
Northwestern University will take on the University of Nebraska in the Aviva Stadium on 27 August 2022. The Aer Lingus College Football five-game series was due to start in 2020 but was disrupted due to the pandemic. Over 18,000 US fans and 5,000 European fans are expected to travel for the game.
KTI DIRECTORY
Knowledge Transfer Ireland has launched a new directory for businesses looking to commercialise public research or find out about state-funded R&D supports. The directory includes profiles of 50 research providers, including higher education institutes and research centres.
DIGITAL TOURISM
Fáilte Ireland is committing €6m to digitalise tourism activities and attractions. The Digital that Delivers programme is seeking to partner with c.1,350 visitor experiences.
GAS SWITCHERS
Sixteen per cent of gas customers switched supplier in 2020, according to Gas Networks Ireland. Over 70% of all accounts have made at least one switch since the gas market was deregulated. Eight hundred customers have switched gas supplier more than 10 times.
AN POST RESULTS
An Post increased revenue by 2.6% to €915m in 2020 but Covid impacts reduced operating profit to €33m from €80m the year before. The company said parcels growth of 100% was partially offset by a decline in letter volumes of 7%, and trading declines in the Post Office network due to Covid restrictions.
MARLIN INVESTMENT
Marlin Equity Partners has made a substantial investment in online learning company Learning Pool, buying out PE peer Carlyle Cardinal Ireland. Based in Northern Ireland, Learning Pool employs c.260 staff in the UK and US and plans to hire 100 more people in the coming year.
VIRTUAL 5K
Grant Thornton has decided September is too soon for its annual five-kilometre road race to return to the streets. As was the case in 2020, the charity fundraiser will operate on a virtual basis. Participants will be invited to complete the 5k at any time on September 8 and upload their time to a live leader board by midnight the same day.