Irish Government offers support as Carelon closure brings 300 job losses
THE closure of a health tech firm in Co. Limerick will mean 300 job losses it has been confirmed this week.
Carelon Global Solutions Ireland said it has decided to cease trading, after conducting a 'review of business operations and a consultation process with employee representatives'.
Based in Castletroy, the health technology company said the closure process is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.
Ireland's Minister for Social Protection, Dara Calleary
The Irish Government has today offered full support for those people now left without jobs.
'Following the announcement from Carelon, my immediate thoughts are with the workers and their families who are dealing with this difficult news,' Ireland's Minister for Social Protection, Dara Calleary said today.
'Our priority now is to ensure that those affected employees will receive access to all necessary supports without delay,' he added.
Minister Calleary's department has already contacted Carelon to 'offer information on all of our income and employment supports that are available to assist these employees over the coming months' he explained.
'A team from the Department will shortly meet with the workforce to ensure prompt access to income supports and to support them into alternative employment, or to access appropriate education, training and development options,' he added.
In terms of practical financial assistance, the Minister advised all those left out of work due to the company's closure to apply for the state's jobseekers payment.
'The new jobseeker's pay-related benefit, which we introduced in March, is available to those who lose their job and meet the eligibility conditions,' he explained.
'This scheme provides a maximum weekly payment of €450 which will help people during this period of uncertainty while they seek new employment.
He added: 'Anyone affected should note that the easiest and quickest way to apply for a jobseeker's payment is online at MyWelfare.ie, which provides safe, convenient online access to social welfare services.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Housing commencements fall to 10-year low for the month of May
Home building has hit another dismal low-point, with new data confirming that last month's housing commencement figures were worst seen in May for 10 years. Last month, housing commencements - the number of new residential projects that have officially begun construction - were less than half the number of May last year. With the exception of May 2020, when covid-19 shut the construction sector, the May 2025 figure is the worst since 2015, with just 1,024 homes getting underway. Department of Housing statistics show that, in the first five months of the year, just under 5,000 homes have been officially commenced in Ireland, set against an initial government target to deliver 41,000 homes. Minister for housing James Browne has said this target is now 'not realistic' and that 'we're coming off a much lower base from last year than was expected'. The latest figures come as thousands of people are set to participate in a Raise the Roof protest at the National Monument in Cork City on Saturday, with trade unions and opposition parties urging the public to turn out to highlight the impact of the housing crisis on society. A commencement is a formal notice a developer must lodge to notify that that construction or a significant alteration to a building is beginning. There is no penalty if the work is never undertaken. Although it had been seen as an indication of how many homes would be built in the short-to-medium term, doubts have been cast on the reliability of these statistics, given a flood of notices were lodged at times last year prior to the expiry of Government incentives. Nevertheless, the fall in commencements to levels not seen since before the pandemic is viewed as a negative indicator of housing supply. The Central Bank has forecast that just 32,500 new homes will be built this year. Separately, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) said on Friday that the volume of building in the residential sector fell 10.6% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same time last year. Sinn Féin's housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin said the drop in housing commencements 'isn't surprising news'. Minister for housing James Browne has said he is committed to enacting a 'step change' in the housing department and will clear 'the dead wood out of the way so that homes can get delivered'. Photo: Leah Farrell/© 'It's why the Central Bank have revised their estimates and appears the Government will miss their targets not just this year but in 2026 and 2027 as well," he said. 'There's still an ongoing delay in the approval of vital social and affordable housing projects, and I suspect this accounts for a significant proportion of the shortfall in commencements. There is far too much bureaucracy and red tape.' Minister Browne has said he is committed to enacting a 'step change' in the housing department and will clear 'the dead wood out of the way so that homes can get delivered'. A spokesperson for the Department of Housing said the dip in commencement notices in the early months of 2025 "is not unexpected given the extraordinary number lodged in the last two years in response to Government measures to accelerate supply, principally through the Development Levy Waiver and Water Connection Rebate – notices were lodged for almost 102,000 new homes in 2023 and 2024 combined". The lower number of notices lodged over the first five months of 2025 likely reflects a shift in focus in the construction sector to progressing the homes already in the pipeline, they added. "Feedback from the sector suggests significantly increased activity on sites around the country – the Department of Housing is working with local authorities to gauge the level of activity currently underway in respect of the notices received in 2023 and 2024. Our initial analysis suggests almost 90% of the associated sites have been activated so far, auguring well for the completion of many of these units in 2025 and 2026."
Irish Examiner
5 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
High Court hears from John Magnier's 'right hand man' in multi million Barne Estate row
A senior advisor described as a "right-hand man" to bloodstock billionaire John Magnier, who is involved in a legal battle over the purported multi-million sale of a Tipperary estate that fell through, has told the High Court he was not secretly "kept in the loop" of the tax affairs of the vendors. Financial advisor at world-famous Coolmore Stud, Eddie Irwin also rejected a description of him by counsel for Barne Estate as Mr Magnier's "fixer"and "right hand man". Mr Irwin said Coolmore did not use "catchphrases or fancy titles" but agreed with counsel that he would be called to work on projects if things went "wrong". Mr Irwin, who has 40 years' experience working with Mr Magnier, was called in to aid in securing the Barne Estate deal which the Magniers believed they had shook hands on in August 2023 for €15m. However, the Magnier side were ultimately gazumped in being the preferred buyer by Irish-born, US-based construction magnate Maurice Regan, who offered €22.25m. The case centres on Mr Magnier's claim that Mr Regan engaged in a "full-frontal assault" on Mr Magnier's claimed deal to buy the 751-acre tract and that Barne estate reneged on the deal. Barne Estate has been held for the benefit of Richard Thomson-Moore and others by a Jersey trust. At the High Court on Friday, Mr Irwin said he met with Mr Thomson-Moore in early September 2023 and they contacted tax experts KPMG after the Thomson-Moore family requested tax liability advice. A KPMG tax expert met with the Thomson-Moores later in the month as a "favour" to Coolmore, who were large clients of KPMG. Mr Irwin did not attend that meeting but allegedly sent a WhatsApp message to Mr Magnier telling him "off the record" that the tax expert, who was named in court, allegedly told him that the Thomson-Moores were considering whether to retain KPMG and that the expert had informed the Thomson-Moores of what approach he recommended. Mr Irwin answering Martin Hayden, counsel for Barne Estate, denied he had an "off-the-record" report from the expert that, counsel alleged, would keep him "in the loop" in return for introducing the Thomson-Moores to KPMG. Mr Irwin said the wording of the WhatsApp message was an "aberration" and "unfortunate" and that he meant for Mr Magnier not to share information already known from previous meetings as it was a "private" and not for dissemination. Mr Irwin told Mr Hayden that the named expert was an "innocent, decent, and honourable" man, who was being "defamed" in the court as someone who would keep him "in the loop" on private tax matters. However, Mr Irwin said he did have "grave" concerns at the time that the tax issue raised by the Thomson-Moores was put forward just before the September 29, 2023, end of an exclusivity agreement and may not have been a genuine one. Mr Irwin told Mr Hayden that he was told by Mr Magnier that a week after the alleged handshake deal that his son-in-law, David Wachman, received a call from Mr Regan, who was "angry and abusive" about the purported sale. Mr Regan told Mr Wachman that he would outbid the Magnier side by €5m to prevent the deal going through, claimed Mr Irwin. After the expiration of the exclusivity agreement on September 29, 2023, Mr Irwin contacted Eugene McCague, a former partner at legal heavyweights Arthur Cox, who represent Coolmore in these proceedings, and sought legal advice should the matter be litigated. In early October 2023, with the exclusivity agreement now expired, the local estate agent involved in the sale, John Stokes, told the Magniers that the Barne Estate had been subject to a €20m bid. The Magnier side then upped their bid to €16m with a separate, additional offering of €500,000 to establish a trust for a member of the Thomson-Moore family. Mr Irwin said he was told by the auctioneer that the Thomson-Moore's were happy to accept the Magnier offer but the Barne Estate solicitors never sent the contracts and the deal was never done. The Magnier side has sued the Barne Estate, Mr Thomson-Moore, and three companies of IQEQ (Jersey) Ltd group, seeking to enforce the purported deal, which they say had been "unequivocally" agreed. The Barne defendants say there was never any such agreement, as they needed the consent of trustees to finalise any agreement and subsequently they preferred to sell the estate to Mr Regan. Mr Regan is not a party to the case. The case continues before Mr Justice Max Barrett next month.
Irish Times
7 hours ago
- Irish Times
Delays to housing plan could push it back to September
The Government is discussing a delay to publishing its new housing plan until after the summer. The plan, which is to replace the last coalition's Housing for All approach, was due to be published during July, but it looks as though it could slip into September before it is made publicly available. Senior Government figures said the new plan could not be completed until the publication of a review of how the State is going to fund its multi-year infrastructure delivery programme, which is now expected in late July. That review – of the National Development Plan (NDP) – is expected to add many billions in allocations for roads, public transport, the electricity grid and water infrastructure, among other things. But it needs to be completed before Minister for Housing James Browne publishes the coalition's roadmap for how it will hit its housing targets. READ MORE The potential to push back publication of the housing plan until September is said to have been discussed at a meeting of the Cabinet housing subcommittee. [ No 'special exemptions' for students under latest Rent Pressure Zone system, James Browne says Opens in new window ] While some Government sources believe there is concern about pushing back its publication, others say a delay would have support around the Cabinet table. A final decision on what to do regarding the publication date will have to be made in the coming weeks. It is unlikely that the plan can be unveiled in August, when much of the political system shuts down for the summer break, many civil servants are on leave, and the Dáil is not sitting. A spokeswoman for Mr Browne would not be drawn on a specific date for publication of the report, beyond saying it would be as soon as possible after the publication of the NDP review, which in turn will cover all public capital investment to 2035 and allocate funds from the Apple tax case and AIB share sales, among other sources of capital. Mr Browne's spokeswoman said work on the plan is 'at an advanced stage'. [ The Government is finally showing some political courage in tackling the housing crisis Opens in new window ] 'The next housing plan is due to be published after the publication of the National Development Plan as a matter of priority,' she said. 'This sequencing is necessary, as the housing plan must have certainty around the investment plans and capital programmes for the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage before the next plan can be finalised and published.' She said Mr Browne was not waiting for publication of the new plan before pushing forward with measures, including on Rent Pressure Zones reform, planning extensions and exemptions. The previous government also encountered delays when it was seeking to bring forward Housing for All under the former minister for housing, Darragh O'Brien. That document was due to be launched in July 2021, but was ultimately pushed back to September of that year, which drew criticism from the opposition.
