Deloitte has warned that delays to the construction of housing and upgrades of key infrastructure will hinder Irish economic growth and create more costly problems in the future. The Big Four firm has warned that delays to the construction of housing and upgrades of key infrastructure will hinder Irish economic growth and create more costly problems in the future. On the subject of spending plans, the Government has indicated that a new savings investment account (SIA) scheme will be unveiled on budget day later this year. Fintechs in the Republic were involved in deals with a total value of $258.4 million (€224.6 million) in 2025, up from $237.9 million in 2024, up 9 per cent. In Me & My Money, Tony Clayton-Lea speaks to Irish international trail-runner Matthew McConnell about cryptocurrency, putting a pension plan in place, and not letting money control his decision-making.

Disney boss Bob Iger nearly quit his job at ABC after discovering that a smaller company was buying it. The third decided that, after nearly 20 years in the same job, he wanted to do something else. Indeed, Klotz writes, “most of us are one event away from leaving our job”. Klotz quotes one survey of 56,000 workers that found 42 per cent had quit a new job within a year. One big insight Klotz offers is that the one thing many people should do after suffering a jolt at work is nothing.

Ireland – Dublin in particular – is experiencing a new wave of American fast-food entrants to a seemingly insatiable market. While In-N-Out is all about beef burgers, the broader trend in new American fast-food in Ireland is mostly about chicken. Multiple American fast-food chicken brands have recently set up shop (although when a US fast-food brand opens in Ireland, it’s generally a UK and Ireland licence). Another American chicken brand, Popeye’s, is set to open in Blanchardstown and Westmoreland Street. While Ireland does a decent line in smash burgers, which have virtually replaced traditional beef burgers on many menus, there are fewer high-profile Irish chicken fast-food outlets.

The problem is exacerbated in some cases by demand for holiday homes and rentals. “Our main aim is to reduce the number of vacant homes and make them available for Irish speakers in the Gaeltacht. The figures also revealed that there are 9,609 holiday homes in the Gaeltachtaí. In Mayo alone, there are 817 vacant homes (13 per cent) and 1,304 holiday homes (21 per cent) in the Gaeltacht areas. MacEachmharcaigh’s role as vacant homes co-ordinator for the Gaeltachtaí means he will work with Donegal, Mayo, Galway, Kerry, Cork, Waterford and Meath local authorities.

The sellers did, of course, purchase their tickets in the hope we’d be playing Denmark or North Macedonia with a place in the USA/Canada/Mexico at stake, but ... ah look, you know yourself. Go to the Aviva Stadium on Tuesday to see North Macedonia head coach Goce Sedloski in person. You can be sure both the Irish and North Macedonia squads and their management would prefer to undergo a colonic irrigation procedure than fulfil this fixture. If you don’t turn up, you’ll have had a North Macedonia. 3 It is said by people who know these things that Dursey Island off the Beara Peninsula in Cork is the farthest point from the Aviva Stadium in Ireland (330km).

Sean Rogers with his wife Ruth and son Eoin: 'Maybe I am also reawakening to my Irishness, whatever that may look like.' I’m back in Boston after a week traversing across Ireland and wondering if I’ve “flattened out” as O’Faolain would say. I left Ireland via way of London in the autumn of 1989 and have been in the Boston area ever since. and have become interested in her reawakening to her Irishness, after many years living and working in the UK. Maybe I am also reawakening to my Irishness, whatever that may look like.

Like 'to tell you the truth', 'just wondering' or 'just to let you know' usually means something else is going on. Sometimes I really do mean but: I’m trying to bike home before the rain comes in but that light is red. I’m trying to train myself not to say just, she said, not to undermine and minimise what I think. Slightly neurotic’Opens in new window ]I tend to prick up my ears when someone announces any form of truth-telling. Like “to tell you the truth”, “just wondering” or “just to let you know” usually means something else is going on.

A prolonged war continuing into the autumn and beyond would create a world energy shock similar to that of the 1970s, and cause huge economic dislocation. If world supply falls by 20 per cent because of the war, prices would have to rise very high to balance supply and demand. Higher energy prices transfer wealth from energy consumers to producers. The oil crises of the 1970s show what could happen if there is long-lasting energy disruption. Higher oil prices also encouraged exploration for fossil fuels, which resulted in a substantial drop in energy prices from the mid-1980s as new production began to flow.

A private fundraising event for the Irish branch of an Israeli ambulance charity is set to take place at the National Concert Hall on an unconfirmed date. Photograph: Dara Mac DónaillThe National Concert Hall (NCH) is embroiled in a row after accepting, revoking and then reinstating a booking from former Fine Gael minister for justice Alan Shatter to host a private fundraising event for the Irish branch of an Israeli ambulance charity. Shatter then challenged the cancellation, accusing the concert hall of being disingenuous and insisting he had a booking. Although the event is back in the concert hall diary, the date on which it is to take place remains unclear. “My focus is on relaxation.”Asked about the row, the concert hall said it makes its facilities available for private hire alongside publicly programmed artistic activity.

The battle to take over Permanent TSB continues after the bank confirmed on Monday that a further two US-led bidders have entered the sale process. US private equity group Lone Star Fund XII Acquisitions and a consortium involving two US investment firms Sixth Street Luxembourg and Centerbridge Partners are now officially participants in the sale process which was first announced by PTSB on October 30 last. Austrian bank BAWAG already has submitted a non-binding proposal to acquire the bank.

I have no interest in cryptocurrency as it seems like a more upmarket approach to gambling. Have you successfully saved up for a relatively big purchase? The feeling of disappointment when I didn’t win any money back has dissuaded me from gambling or betting ever since. Apart from the gambling, I don’t think I’ve ever lost any money. I rarely use cash any more and, to be honest, I rarely carry my wallet, which isn’t an excellent trait.

A man sifts through rubble at the site of a building hit by a US-Israeli strike on a commercial district, on March 29, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. Photograph: Majid Saeedi/Getty ImagesAs the Iran war gets worse, a quartet of regional powers offers the best hope for peace. Talks could start as early as Tuesday. The US military build-up points to a likely ground operation and the public positions of Washington and Tehran are incompatible. But if there is any hope of ending this conflict soon, it probably lies in Islamabad and in the efforts of these four regional powers.

The investment meant the country house hotel, owned by the O’Neill family for 80 years, added 16 modern bedrooms at the property, bringing the total to 43. “About 75 per cent of our business was food and we had to diversify. So we had to diversify into bedrooms to strengthen the business,” says Michael O’Neill jnr. Listen | 27:41This later expanded into a hotel business and it has expanded at various junctures since then to its current size. Michael O'Neill jnr with his father, also Michael, at Fernhill House Hotel & Gardens in Clonakilty.

“The project was founded to break the mould in terms of how universities offer short-form learning,” says David Corscadden, acting MicroCreds project lead at the IUA. At its inception the MicroCreds project had four strategic aims, each of which was successfully delivered. The transition to the HEA marks a critical shift from project-based innovation to system-wide infrastructure for lifelong learning. “We are cognisant that we need to increase the number of people engaging in lifelong learning,” Patterson says. So, employers really should be availing of these courses.”“The MicroCreds project has proved its worth and its value,” she says.

Even short bursts of exercise such as running for the bus can slash the risk of dementia or type 2 diabetes by more than half, a study suggests. Those with the highest proportion of vigorous activity were 63 per cent less likely to develop dementia and 60 per cent less likely to develop type-2 diabetes than those who did no vigorous activity. 'During vigorous physical activity – the kind that makes you feel out of breath – your body responds in powerful ways. 'This could open the door to more personalised physical activity recommendations based on an individual's specific health risks,' he added. 'Vigorous activity may not be safe for everyone, especially older adults or people with certain medical conditions.