Business

Dublin remains in the number two spot for the second year running for real estate investment and development in Europe, according to Emerging Trends in Real Estate Europe 2015, a forecast published jointly by the Urban Land Institute and PwC. Ranking Berlin in the number one position, the report states that Dublin has strong rental growth potential based on low supply, coupled with employment growth. According to Real Capital Analytics , a tremendous amount of capital has poured into Dublin already, €2.2bn in the first three-quarters of 2014. Though office rents and values are recovering strongly, they still have some way to go before they regain their pre-crisis peak. Enda Faughnan, real estate…

The world’s largest supplier of networking products Cisco is to invest €200,000 in a big data joint venture with Irish data management solutions company Asystec. It will involve Asystec delivering its methodology and expertise in data analytics while Cisco delivers infrastructure and expertise to provide a complete big data solution. “Corporate partnerships are fuelling the growth of the world’s most successful companies as the demand to provide new innovative products that deliver on customers’ expectations increases,” said Asystec CEO Les Byrne. “We believe this partnership will be truly successful and will deliver unique value to our customers.” As well as the financial investment by Cisco, Asystec will be investing in…

Waste collection company, The City Bin Co has announced 30 new jobs to be created before Christmas in Dublin. The company said the roles are due to the expansion of its service into new areas including Finglas, East Wall, Coolock and Drumcondra. The roles are a combination of on street marketing and waste disposal staff. It is the second time the company has expanded its work force this year. Grainne Rothery

Vodafone customers in Waterford city have become the first people in Ireland to have access to 4G+ technology, which provides speeds up to twice as fast as first generation 4G. They will be followed by Vodafone customers in Cork, Dublin and Limerick by the end of this month who will be able to avail of data speeds of up to 150Mbps. 4G+ is available to Vodafone Red Super Business and Red Extra Super bill pay customers at no extra cost until April using one of three select Samsung 4G+ enabled smartphones. “Vodafone customers in Ireland already have access to the widest 4G footprint across six cities and 377 towns and…

University of Limerick A division of American health care giant Johnson & Johnson is to create up to 100 new IT jobs over the next two years through the creation of a development centre at the National Technology Park in Plassey, Co Limerick. Supported by IDA Ireland, the recruitment drive by the information technology shared services division will add to the 2,000 people that Johnson & Johnson already employs in Dublin, Cork and Limerick. Minister of Education and Skills Jan O’Sullivan TD said the close collaboration between Johnson & Johnson, Limerick Institute of Technology and University of Limerick to enhance the city as an IT hub by providing skilled talent was central to winning this…

Aer Lingus Regional has been awarded the tender to provide air services on the public service obligation (PSO) routes of Donegal-Dublin and Kerry-Dublin. The airline secured the routes following an EU public tender competition. The two services will be operated by Stobart Air under the Aer Lingus Regional brand. Seán Brogan, chairman of Stobart Air, said the airline had put forward a very strong proposal for both routes. “At the heart of our offering is our connectivity with mainline Aer Lingus services, particularly to North America,” he said. “Passengers to and from North America will be able to connect seamlessly to both Donegal and Kerry. The passenger convenience and wider tourism benefits of this for both…

Aer Lingus Regional is to introduce Ireland’s first direct service to Cornwall next summer. The service from Dublin Airport to Newquay Cornwall Airport will begin on 1 May 2015. Initially, there will be four flights a week – Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday – increasing to five a week – Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday – in the peak summer season, from 27 June to 5 September 2015. The airline is targeting 20,000 passengers in the first year. Tickets will be available for booking on aerlingus.com in the coming weeks. “We are confident that it will become a popular route, and a key part of our summer services,” said Julian Carr, managing…

Nightline has responded to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications hearings on Eircode, the proposed national postcode scheme. The committee heard from officials at the Department for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (DCENR), Capita and An Post today to establish whether the Eircode scheme should be sent back to the Dáil to be reviewed again. Nightline has urged it to continue with plans to introduce the country’s first national postcode system. “We at Nightline are in favour of adopting Eircode. The Nightline Group handles more than one million parcels a month and employs more than 750 staff at 11 sites across the entire island of Ireland,” said John…

The number of consumer and commercial debt judgments has dropped by 39pc to 3,339 judgments for the first ten months of 2014 compared to the same period in 2010, according to new figures compiled by Vision-net.ie. Debt judgments allow creditors to retrieve money owed through a variety of mechanisms, including appointing a receiver and commencing bankruptcy proceedings. Vision-net.ie reckons these figures suggest there is an increasing ability and willingness to service, pay and negotiate debts. In terms of monetary value, the total value of all debt judgments awarded has fallen by 63pc to €263m up to the end of September 2014 compared to the 2010 equivalent time. “Today’s data indicates…

Irish Life contributed €57m (CAD$82m) to parent company Great-West Lifeco’s earnings in the third quarter of 2014. This figure represented a 50pc increase, up from €38m (CAD$57m) in the previous quarter. In the year to date, Irish Life’s contribution to Great-West Lifeco’s earnings is a total of €129m (CAD$191m). During the third quarter Irish Life generated €1.5bn (CAD$2.1bn) of sales and €101m (CAD$144m) of Great-West Lifeco’s fee income. “A highlight in the quarter was the launch of our new Irish Life enhanced annuity.This innovative product allows us to offer higher retirement income to people who have experienced poor health,” said Bill Kyle, chief executive officer, Irish Life Group. “We also…