Business

Construction Sector Output Grows by 10% in 2014, Forecasts Strong Growth Ahead Paragraph: According to a report released by the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI), the volume of output in the construction sector witnessed a significant growth of 10% in 2014, reaching €11 billion. Furthermore, the report predicts a substantial increase of approximately 26% in the sector’s output over the next two years. Housebuilding and Commercial Property to Drive Future Growth Paragraph: The SCSI’s report, titled ‘Irish Construction Prospects to 2016’ and prepared in collaboration with DKM Economic Consultants, highlights that the growth in construction output will be primarily driven by increased activities in housebuilding and commercial property sectors.…

Global property company Kennedy Wilson and its equity partners, in a joint venture with the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) has submitted planning for its visionary development on Sir John Rogerson’s Quay in Dublin 2. Extending over 4.8 acres, Capital Dock is one of the largest undeveloped sites in Dublin CBD (Central Business District) and will deliver over 600,000 sq ft of new space at this prime waterfront location. It will include 313,000 sq ft of office space across three buildings and 204 high quality residential units across two buildings, one of which will incorporate a 19-storey tower. The proposed development, which is bounded by water on two sides, places…

UK holiday company Center Parcs has officially announced plans to develop a €200m holiday village in Co Longford that will create 1,000 jobs. The company said 750 jobs will be created in construction phase followed by up to 1,000 permanent jobs. The holiday village will be located at Newcastle Wood, five kilometres from Ballymahon, County Longford, and 21 kilometres from junction 9 (Athlone) of the M6 motorway.  Center Parcs has signed an option agreement with Coillte, which currently owns the 375 acre site. The new Center Parcs, which will have capacity for up to 2,500 guests, is expected to open in 2019, subject to receiving planning permission. Center Parcs said…

Global gaming technology services provider Xanadu Consultancy has been awarded a multi-million euro contract to enhance Matchbook.com’s betting exchange platform. Global gaming technology services provider Xanadu awarded Matchbook.com contract Matchbook.com has engaged Xanadu to deliver a comprehensive re-architecture of the global sports trading platform to provide an even faster and more efficient trading exchange for users.   
 
 “Matchbook.com provides a market-leading sports trading experience for our users,” said Roibeard Long, spokesperson at Matchbook.com.“We want to future proof the trading platform so that as activity on the site scales due to the exchange’s popularity Matchbook.com can continue to provide a resilient and reliable exchange that has the capacity to transact thousands…

US-based testing company Prometric has entered into a three-year research partnership with Dublin City University (DCU) valued at around €1m which will create 40 new jobs in Dundalk, Co Louth. Supported by IDA Ireland, Prometric has invested more than €75m in Ireland over ten years of operation and this announcement means a further injection of more than €3.5m to expand its Co Louth presence and partner with DCU. In Dundalk, Prometric’s 40 new jobs will add finance and customer service functions to its test development, technology, operations and human resources teams already there. When all hiring is complete, the company expects to have 168 employees in Ireland, 147 of which…

Finnair announced today that it is extending its new Dublin-Helsinki route into the winter season. The airline’s new service between the two cities started this morning. Last September, Finnair announced the route, which it said at the time would operate six days a week from 30 March until the end of October. The route is being served with 100-seat Embraer 190 aircraft operated on behalf of Finnair by Flybe Finland. Today, it said the service will operate three times a week from October to March. “We are delighted to see Finnair extend its new Dublin-Helsinki route into the winter season. “The fact that Finnair is extending the service so quickly…

Ryanair has launched its winter 2015 schedule, three months earlier than 2014, with what is said has more routes, additional flights and improved schedules. It celebrated the launch of by releasing 100,000 seats for sale across its European network, at prices from €19.99. “Ryanair is pleased to launch our biggest ever winter schedule, with more flights, routes and destinations, as we continue to grow Europe’s biggest route network,” said Ryanair’s chief marketing officer Kenny Jacobs. “As part of our Always Getting Better programme and Customer Charter, we have promised to release our schedules early and our customers can now plan and book their summer and winter 2015 holidays – all…

Dublin was London City Airport’s (LCA) second busiest route after Edinburgh, Scotland, in February. Passenger numbers to Dublin climbed 194pc compared to February 2014, with over 35,500 passengers travelling to Dublin through LYC. Dublin is benefitting from increased capacity as a result of new services by Flybe and British Airways, which along with the longstanding CityJet service, mean LCY now offers the most daily flights to Ireland’s capital from any UK airport. Overall, passenger traffic last month was up 33.4pc at LCY compared to February 2014 with the airport reporting Edinburgh, Dublin and Amsterdam as the its busiest routes with a combined total of 112,380 passengers over the month. Declan…

Flights on the Waterford-London Luton route are to resume at the end of next month, with Belgian-based VLM Airlines set to fly 12 times a week in each direction. VLM will also operate a four times a week service from Waterford to Birmingham. Last December, Flybe announced that it would be axing its service on the route on 20 March. This was the airport’s last commercial route following Flybe’s decision a couple of months earlier to cancel its service to Manchester. Aer Lingus Regional , meanwhile, discontinued its service on the Waterford-London Luton route in January 2013. VLM will operate twice-daily Monday-Friday flights, as well as a Saturday and a Sunday service. Operations…