Ballymore says €130m AIB facility could see it deliver 4,000 new homes
Property developer Sean Mulryan: new AIB facility will allow construction of 2,000, and maybe up to 4,000, homes. Photograph: Eric LukeProperty developer Ballymore says it will build 2,000 new A-rated homes and could build up to 4,000 after it agreed refinancing of more than €130 million with AIB. AIB said the refinancing reflected the “strong relationship” the bank has with Ballymore, and succeeds the provision of facilities to Sean Mulryan’s Ballymore by AIB over the last four years. The refinancing facility will include Home Building Finance Ireland as a new minority partner, providing about 12 per cent of the total syndicate debt. “Our track record with Ballymore is strong and this new facility is our commitment to continue financing new A-graded sustainable homes.
Source:The Irish Times
November 24, 2025 16:48 UTC
Can someone please answer the phone?
Sir, – I am trying to finish several jobs today on a renovation project and need to call about seven different people. It has become almost impossible to speak to a real human being when dealing with companies or public services. One simple conversation with a real person could prevent minutes turning into hours, and hours into days, just to get a straightforward answer. We are told we have more ways than ever to contact companies, yet every path seems designed to avoid human contact entirely. A society that stops talking to its people risks losing more than efficiency; it risks losing trust, loyalty and common decency.
Source:The Irish Times
November 24, 2025 15:16 UTC
Gerry Hutch plans to register new voters as part of bid for seat in Dublin byelection
Several senior officers said Hutch is highly motivated to secure a Dáil seat. Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch arriving at the RDS count centre during the General Election count last year. The 62-year-old Dubliner teased another run for a Dáil seat by taking to social media after Mr Donohoe announced last week he was leaving politics. How did Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch lose out in Dublin Central in 2024? He secured bail, enabling him to run in the general election last November, but remains under investigation, along with others, in Spain.
Source:The Irish Times
November 24, 2025 13:52 UTC
The real migration crisis is not the one you’ve been hearing about – The Irish Times
Last week, the Labour government in Britain announced its intention to reform – again – its asylum system based on the Danish restrictive model. Secondly, the Danish and UK (and now Irish) crisis narratives need to be examined. But the UK asylum figures are still a lot less than those in France, Italy, Germany and Spain. [ Asylum seekers should not view Ireland more favourably than UK, says O’CallaghanOpens in new window ]The EU as a bloc hosted just over one million asylum seekers in 2024. Ciara Smyth is professor in the School of Law and Irish Centre for Human Rights at the University of Galway
Source:The Irish Times
November 24, 2025 13:31 UTC
US government labels Occupied Territories Bill ‘virtue signalling’
Demonstrators from the Campaign to Pass the Occupied Territories Bill have pressed consistently for its passage through Dáil Éireann. Photograph:The US state department has criticised the Occupied Territories Bill, describing it as “unhelpful virtue signalling”, marking an escalation in US opposition to the proposed legislation. This intervention marks the first time that the US Government has criticised the Bill directly. The Government has committed to bringing forward the Occupied Territories Bill. However, Tánaiste Simon Harris has previously said he wants to see services included – but only if a legally robust way of doing so can be found.
Source:The Irish Times
November 24, 2025 13:31 UTC
G20 summit offers glimpse of world without US leadership – The Irish Times
But the G20 leaders’ meeting in Johannesburg offered a glimpse of a world without Washington’s leadership. A shifting centre of gravityAs Harry McGee reports from Johannesburg Donald Trump’s boycott cast a shadow over the first G20 summit to be held in Africa. But the absence of the United States failed to derail the event or to stop the other participants from affirming a common agenda at odds with Trump’s. The US, which opposes all of these positions, warned the summit against adopting a declaration in its absence. And as the incoming presidency of the G20 the US will be able to ignore those elements of the declaration it dislikes.
Source:The Irish Times
November 24, 2025 12:36 UTC
A black turtleneck placed in an Irish clothes bank ended up in Pakistan, dumped or destroyed
Almost all of the items tracked – 95 per cent – left Ireland and 60 per cent ended up outside the EU. Clothes Pods are operated by Textile Recycling Limited, a commercial operator with over 2,000 clothing banks in Ireland. The rest of the reused items successfully tracked ended up across Europe, Africa or the Middle East. [ The future of fashion: ‘Clothes banks are overflowing with crap. Clothing banks are currently not legally obliged to report where they send discarded clothing.
Source:The Irish Times
November 24, 2025 10:32 UTC
‘We kept fighting, even down to 12’: Bundee Aki says Springboks battle will stand to Ireland
We look each other in the eye and say ‘I’ve got your back, you’ve got mine, let’s go after it together’. We kept fighting, even down to 12 men, we kept making it hard for them to cross our line. I think that will stand for us as a group and as a team. I think that game will stand to all of us and especially those young boys. Photograph: Gary Carr/InphoBut he praised the fight the team showed and believes that character will stand to the team.
Source:The Irish Times
November 24, 2025 10:32 UTC
Farrell determined to maintain upbeat tone despite South Africa defeat
Only time will tell how damaging Saturday’s 24-13 defeat to South Africa at a feverish Aviva Stadium will prove to be for this Irish team, and particularly for its scrum. But it could certainly have been much worse, and Andy Farrell maintained his team will take more positives from this astonishing game than seemed conceivable. The Irish head coach had been relatively critical of his side’s performances in losing to New Zealand and beating Japan. [ Ireland-South Africa game should be a watershed moment in rugby’s officiating crisisOpens in new window ]“He’s gutted,” said Farrell. Ireland conceded a penalty try, two yellow cards, six penalties and two more tries with scrum penalty advantages on Saturday.
Source:The Irish Times
November 24, 2025 10:32 UTC
Irish Communist Party earns over €200,000 from books and merch sales
The Communist Party of Ireland action for the defence of the triple lock: Party had income of €208,767 in 2024. Under new rules governing accounts filed by political parties, more information is given about property and party-controlled businesses than was the case up to now. The 2024 accounts filed with Sipo put a value of €1.4 million on the part of the building owned by the party. Total party income for the year was €221,824, total outlay was €191,540, leaving a surplus of €30,284. Among the flags being sold by the CPI are a party flag, a China flag, the flag of North Korea, the Cuban flag, the Irish flag, the Palestinian flag, the Progress Pride flag, the flag of the USSR and starry plough flags in red or blue.
Source:The Irish Times
November 24, 2025 10:31 UTC
Great restaurants around Ireland for a casual bite
JCIchigo Ichie Bistro5 Sheares Street, Cork, Co Cork; 021-4279997, ichigoichie.ieOwner and head chef Takashi Miyazaki’s hand-made noodle process at Ichigo Ichie. Star billing goes to the handmade buckwheat noodles, served hot and cold in various dishes. JCIzz Cafe14 George’s Quay, Cork, Co Cork; 021-2290689, izz.ieIzzedeen (Izz) Alkarajeh and Eman Aburabi, co-owners of Izz Café in Cork. ADKing Skewer8 Cathedral Street, Dublin 1; 01-4458207 kingskewer.ieKing Skewer, 8 Cathedral Street, Dublin 1. CHThe Dough BrosCathedral Buildings, 1 Middle Street, Galway, Co Galway; thedoughbros.ieEugene and Ronan Greaney of The Dough BrosOur pizza obsession owes much to brothers Ronan and Eugene Greaney, whose Dough Bros business continues to thrive.
Source:The Irish Times
November 24, 2025 10:15 UTC
Black Friday warning from bankers over scams via online shopping surge
When shopping online during Black Friday, it's worth noting that bogus sites can impersonate well-known stores or brands. Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PACriminals are “primed” to take advantage of the annual surge in online shopping this week. She warned that scammers will use contaminated links hidden within emails, social media and online adverts “which lead unsuspecting shoppers to counterfeit websites”. “Worryingly, our research also highlighted that one in five shoppers admit to not taking basic security precautions when shopping online,” Ms Davenport said. “If you think you have fallen victim to an online shopping scam, contact your bank immediately using the number on the back of your debit or credit card and report the incident to the Gardaí.”
Source:The Irish Times
November 24, 2025 10:15 UTC
Lawrence Summers: an intellectual giant’s extraordinary fall from grace
Sheryl Sandberg’s encomium to her mentor, Lawrence Summers, could hardly have been more effusive. Summers has found himself in perhaps the biggest mess of his life – much of it of his own making. Jonathan Parker, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), said Summers’ “creepy abuse of his professional power” was “infuriating”. [ Larry Summers, former US Treasury secretary, slammed Trump in Epstein emailsOpens in new window ]Still, few would question his brilliance as an economist. After his stint at the World Bank, he joined the government, working as treasury secretary Robert Rubin’s deputy in the Clinton administration.
Source:The Irish Times
November 24, 2025 08:35 UTC
I shamelessly named the quality and quantity of what I wanted for my birthday
My friends range in age from 30 to 86, but naturally there’s a concentration around my own age, and few of us threw parties. Children can also find birthdays hard: so much anticipation; the hope and fear of so much attention; the pressure of being a year more grown-up, which is sometimes exciting and sometimes unwelcome. It’s sometimes hard to tell what it means when someone says they don’t want any fuss about their birthday. Do they truly find attention embarrassing, feel afraid of ageing and would rather repress the whole business? Enough fun happened, partly because I shamelessly named the quality and quantity of what I wanted.
Source:The Irish Times
November 24, 2025 08:23 UTC
The wretched business of smart casual
Cop30 president André Corrêa do Lago interpreted smart casual to mean you could leave not just one but two top shirt buttons undone. In keeping with this theme, Lula’s government issued official advice that formal business attire was not needed and “to ensure everyone’s comfort, the recommended dress code for the COP30 is smart casual”. He agreed the forbidding heat made the case for this wardrobe choice thin, but as he told me later, when it comes to smart casual, “I never know what it means”. I knew that for women, the idea of smart casual, or the equally confusing business casual, is ill-defined to the point of uselessness. Although the general state of Cop attire tends to veer more towards the casual than the smart, there are limits.
Source:The Irish Times
November 24, 2025 08:15 UTC