Business

The inaugural flight of the new Aer Lingus Dublin to Toronto service took off from Dublin Airport just after 2pm this afternoon. The flight, which is also the first operation of from Dublin of the Boeing B757 aircraft recently added to Aer Lingus’ transatlantic fleet, is set to arrive in Toronto just before 4pm local time (9pm Irish time). The new service will operate year-round with a daily service between Dublin and Toronto during the summer season and up to four weekly services operating during the winter. This is the fourth transatlantic route launch in recent months and forms part of Aer Lingus’ significant transatlantic growth plan in 2014. “Aer…

Earlier this week it was announced that the OpenSSL cryptographic software library has a severe weakness called the Heartbleed Bug. There is a new security warning which has been covered recently in the news which has elevated the stress in many computer users. It has been dubbed the ‘Heartbleed vulnerability.’ What exactly is the Heartbleed vulnerability bug? The Heartbleed vulnerability affects SSL, which is the technology that keeps your information private while you surf the internet. When you buy something online you have probably seen a padlock on the URL bar; this “lock” tell you that your information is kept safe from hackers. So what is exactly is wrong with SSL? The issue is…

Eli Lilly is to begin recruiting for 100 jobs for its new biopharmaceutical facility in Cork this week. The company, which announced the €330m investment in a brand-new facility at its Kinsale campus in Cork back in 2012, said it would be looking for highly qualified personnel across a range of disciplines to add to the existing staffing of the new facility, with the bulk to be recruited this year. The investment expands the Kinsale site’s existing biopharmaceutical mission with the establishment of an additional world-class commercialization and manufacturing facility. The new facility, when fully operational in 2016, will require a range of skills including operators, process engineers, scientists, laboratory…

McDonald’s Restaurants of Ireland today officially opened its new ‘drive-thru’ restaurant on Hebron Road on the outskirts of Kilkenny City. McDonald’s has invested €3m into the new development and created 60 new jobs. Irish and Leinster Rugby player Sean O’Brien was on hand to officially open the new outlet. The new restaurant will replace the existing McDonald’s restaurant on Patrick St, Kilkenny, which closed earlier this year. Themed ‘Spirit of Family’, it features self-order kiosks, Samsung Galaxy tablets, an interior play area and a birthday party room, and is the first of its kind in Ireland. The delivery of the new 60 jobs is the latest phase in McDonald’s expansion…

The National Asset Management Agency (Nama) said today that it has redeemed €3bn in senior bonds. The bonds were issued as consideration for the original loans acquired from the five participating institutions – AIB, Bank of Ireland, Anglo Irish Bank, Irish Nationwide Building Society and EBS. Nama said this redemption – its third to date – means that it has redeemed a total of €10.5 billion in senior bonds so far. Nama paid €31.8bn to the participating institutions when it acquired their loans in 2010 and 2011. Ninety-five percent of that amount (€30.2bn) was in the form of senior bonds guaranteed by the Minister for Finance and the remaining 5pc…

Hundreds of jobs will be on offer at Jobs Expo Dublin in association with DoneDealJobs when it takes place in Croke Park, Dublin on 14 and 15 March. There are roles available in a variety of sectors including construction, IT, software, retail management, financial services, motor and Engineering. Focusing on companies, Construction Jobs Switzerland will be advertising 250 positions to work in one of the highest-paying countries in construction in Europe, while Dynamic Concrete Pumping in Canada are looking for 75 people. There are 30 positions at Irish Pensions & Finance, Dublin including mortgage advisors and financial advisors. Meanwhile, MTS Security, Dublin, electronic security company, who will be offering roles…

Julie O’Neill has been appointed as general manager and senior vice president, global manufacturing operations, at Alexion Pharma Ireland Trading, to help the company to establish global supply chain operations in Ireland. O’Neill will also be responsible for global manufacturing operations, including Alexion’s manufacturing plant in Smithfield, Rhode Island in the US as well as Alexion’s global supply chain operations. Alexion is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and delivery of therapies for severe and life-threatening rare disorders. Earlier this month, it announced that it has agreed to acquire a site in Athlone to create a vialling facility in Ireland, which would create 40 new jobs. Around 50…

Alexion Pharmaceuticals said today that it has agreed to buy a vialling facility in Athlone and intends to create 40 new jobs there as part of its plan to establish global supply chain operations in Ireland. The acquisition from Alkermes is expected to close during the first quarter of this year. The investment is supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through IDA Ireland. Last July, Alexion announced plans to open a new office and laboratory facility in Dublin and to establish a global supply chain facility in Ireland. Following the appropriate validation processes and regulatory approval, Alexion said the Athlone facility will become its first company-owned vialling…

The number of businesses collapsing this month has fallen by over a quarter compared to January last year, according to the latest figures from business and credit risk analyst Vision-net. Vision-net’s monthly figures, covering the period 1–27 January, show that 74 business were declared insolvent during the month – a 26pc decrease on the same period in 2013. Of those, 39 were liquidated, 34 entered receivership and an examiner was appointed to one company.
 
A county by county breakdown of the figures for this month shows that Dublin accounted for 49pc of all insolvencies, an increase of 13.6pc over January 2013. Galway had the second highest level of insolvencies on 8pc,…

Remote Working Trend on the Rise in Ireland The remote working trend appears to be gaining pace as 44pc of employees in Ireland surveyed by Ignite Research for O2 work from home at least one day a month. Another survey of those who already work remotely found that one third of people expect the trend to continue while 45pc believe that over the next five years most business communications will be from home or outside the office. Positive Work-Life Balance and Increased Happiness More than two thirds (70pc) of respondents who work remotely agreed or strongly agreed that working outside the office enabled them to find a positive work-life balance. A…