Latest news with #MicheálMartin
Irish Independent
8 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Cork Airport crowned best regional airport in Europe
The fastest-growing airport in Ireland was named the best airport in Europe that serves under five million passengers at the Airport Council International (ACI) Europe Best Airport Awards. It previously won the award in the 2017 and 2019, with Taoiseach Micheál Martin describing the accolade as a 'prestigious honour'. 'This recognition is thoroughly deserved. The airport team has worked tirelessly to enhance operational efficiency, offer exceptional passenger experience, and deliver on ambitious environmental and sustainability goals,' said ACI Europe Director General Olivier Jankovec. "Their success is clearly reflected in increased air connectivity and passenger numbers which means a growing contribution from the airport to the regional economy, tourism and competitiveness." The airport recently added four new routes to Corfu, Izmir, Bilbao and Bordeaux, with passenger numbers on track to reach beyond 3.4 million passengers this year. It welcomed 3.2 million passengers last year, a 10pc growth year-on-year. A €200 million investment by the DAA Group in the development of infrastructure at the airport plans to include a new mezzanine floor for an expanded security area, a larger duty-free shop, a bigger executive lounge, additional car park spaces, more boarding gates, new aircraft stands, and a new pier. Cork Airport's Managing Director Niall MacCarthy said the award is 'a fantastic endorsement of the incredible people who make Cork Airport what it is—from our frontline teams to those behind-the-scenes, and everyone in between'. "It's also a reflection of the strong partnerships we've built with all our stakeholders, and the loyalty of our passengers who continue to choose Cork Airport. We're immensely proud to win this award for the third time and we're committed to continuing to grow our contribution to the south of Ireland.' Meanwhile, Kenny Jacobs, the CEO of DAA, said the award is 'a huge recognition of the brilliant team on the ground who deliver for passengers every single day'. "This award's not just for the airport - it's for Cork, for Munster, and for Ireland. We have big plans for Cork, and this is a great boost.'
BreakingNews.ie
10 hours ago
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Tariffs and gender-based violence on agenda for North South Ministerial Council
The leaders of the governments of Ireland and Northern Ireland will discuss the impact of international tariffs on their respective economies during a major summit on Friday. International trade shocks are high on the agenda as Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill and deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly are due to chair a meeting of the North South Ministerial Council (NSMC) in Armagh. Advertisement It will be the first time the Irish Cabinet meets collectively with the Northern Ireland Executive since the formation of the Government. Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris are among members of the Government attending the 29th plenary meeting of the body. Mr Martin, who also attended the British-Irish Council in Newcastle, Co Down, last week, said he welcomed that the NSMC was also being held in Northern Ireland. 'Today's meeting is an opportunity to discuss areas of shared focus and ambition across our two administrations, North and South, as outlined in our respective programmes for government, including on this occasion the challenges of tackling gender-based violence, and the opportunities to work more effectively across the island to achieve that aim,' he said. Advertisement 'The meeting is also an opportunity to consider the wider context in which business and trade on this island function and how we can respectively and jointly ensure economic opportunity for all parts of the island into the future. 'The ongoing work of the NSMC and of all ministers present is vital to harnessing the full potential of our shared island and enhancing co-operation, connection and mutual understanding across communities. I look forward to our discussions with Executive counterparts to further co-operation and help deliver tangible positive outcomes North and South.' Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill and deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly during the British-Irish Council summit in Co Down (Liam McBurney/PA) Mr Harris said he was anticipating a 'substantive and productive exchange of views' across a range of important issues. 'We will be continuing the very good conversations we had at the British-Irish Council summit in Co Down last week, the latest in what are regular and ongoing contacts between the two administrations, at both political and official level,' he said. Advertisement 'Much has changed since we last met in this format, in September, with events in the international sphere meaning that we are all dealing with a very different set of challenges than before. 'One of the issues of most concern right now is the application by the US of international trade tariffs, and the potentially serious implications for our respective economies, and for the island as a whole. 'In that regard, I remain in ongoing contact with the First Minister, deputy First Minister and Minister for the Economy, and our respective trade policy experts are also in touch.'
Irish Times
11 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Micheál Martin and Paschal Donohoe are responsible for this Government's lethargy
The Taoiseach and the Minister for Finance are the key members of this Government, but they are hardly its driving force. These dynamics matter because we have a Government with power but so far neither the will nor the cohesion to deliver. All the while the world is changing rapidly and our exposure to events is growing. Micheál Martin scooped the entire electoral dividend available to the two Government parties in the last election. He has complete mastery over Fianna Fáil , but having arrived where he wanted to be over decades, he now seems unable to exercise power effectively. Paschal Donohoe is the principal Fine Gael presence in Cabinet by default. He is the crutch his leader Simon Harris reached for in a disastrous election campaign. He is indispensable in a diminished Fine Gael , yet he seems unable to exert the fiscal discipline and effective delivery of infrastructure the country needs. READ MORE Harris was permanently damaged by that election campaign and he still confuses creating distraction with effective action. Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers has a claim to consideration as a force at the centre of Government. It is too soon to say for sure, but nothing yet indicates he is. The annual National Economic Dialogue on Monday offered a good analysis of the challenges we face . Tariffs and the fragmentation of the global trading system could have far-reaching consequences for the Irish economy. Foreign-owned multinationals account for 84 per cent of corporation tax revenue and around half of income tax and VAT paid by all companies in Ireland. The narrowness of our tax base means that €9 in every €10 received last year came from income tax, corporation tax and VAT. Unlike other rich countries, , we don't do any other taxes on property or wealth in scale sufficient to make a real contribution or to provide a cushion in a downturn. That is a mistake we have made before and will regret again. Worse, this Government has shrunk our domestic tax base further. In 2019, 30 per cent of income earners did not pay income tax or USC. This year that is expected to rise to 33 per cent. This would not pass for prudence in Las Vegas. In the meantime the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council estimates that Ireland's infrastructure is 25 per cent lower than average for a high-income European country. Inadequacies in water supply, sewerage and the electricity grid are barriers to building homes. Government spending more than doubled in a decade. This year spending is rapidly outpacing what was provided for in the budget last October and, oddly, the Department of Public Expenditure is not publishing monthly expenditure reports. Opening the National Economic Dialogue, the Taoiseach warned of 'unprecedented challenges', called for 'courage and ambition' and said we must prepare by 'controlling the controllables'. But what is out of control is under his authority. This is the cumulation of a decade-long, ongoing spending splurge and the failure to reform or lead the public sector. Donohoe is the continuous thread in the decline of purpose in our economic management, which, aside from our response to Covid-19, characterises that time. He accommodated skilfully under three party leaders and made the improbable plausible at a cost to the country. He seems unwilling and unavailable to engage in the combat required for cultural change and fiscal discipline in a system he too seldom challenged. In contrast to Donohoe, whose highest promotion may still be ahead, politically this is the moment of maximum Micheál Martin. Apart from 10 days in January 2011 after he resigned from Brian Cowen's cabinet and before he became leader of Fianna Fáil, he has been on his party's front bench for 30 years, its leader for 14 and in government for 19 in all. He has served his ambition by laying off risk rather than taking it on. Constantly frustrated by the system he presides over, he is also unwilling to take it on. His department is no longer the control room of that wider system which openly disparages the departments of Public Expenditure and Housing as institutionally inadequate. But the Taoiseach will not take control. Off-laying responsibility rather than taking on risk is his preferred route, Ministers – not the Taoiseach – are made to be collateral damage. By dint of dysfunction, we have an asymmetrical power structure in Government that intensifies the limitations of its principals. There are pockets of energy in departments such as Health, Justice, Higher Education and Enterprise. But as a whole, it is characterised by lethargy. Watching each other is preferred to working together. Our best hope is that another crisis might provoke an adequate response.
BreakingNews.ie
a day ago
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
Taoiseach and Tánaiste call for ‘immediate de-escalation' between Iran and Israel
The Taoiseach and Tánaiste have called for an 'immediate de-escalation' between Israel and Iran and for diplomatic talks to restart. Taoiseach Micheál Martin said Iran should make clear it will not pursue further enrichment of uranium. Advertisement Tánaiste Simon Harris, who is also the Minister for Foreign Affairs, said work was ongoing at EU level to engage with citizens in Israel and Iran who may wish to leave. Iran and Israel have been striking each other's territory for a week, deepening the crisis in the Middle East. Israel said it launched an attack to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. Iran has insisted its nuclear programme is peaceful, but it is the only non-nuclear-armed state to enrich uranium up to 60 per cent, far in excess of the levels required for power stations and a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90 per cent. Advertisement After a missile attack on a hospital in southern Israel, defence minister Israel Katz said Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei 'absolutely should not continue to exist'. US president Donald Trump has also reportedly been considering involving the US by targeting a uranium enrichment facility in Iran. Asked what role Ireland can play in the crisis, Mr Martin said Ireland and the EU can urge 'restraint and de-escalation'. 'The world needs stability and it needs peace – and dialogue is the way to resolve the nuclear issue in terms of Iran,' the Taoiseach told RTÉ radio. Advertisement 'Iran has been a malign actor in the Middle East for quite a long time in terms of supporting Hezbollah, Hamas the Houthis – it's a theocratic autocratic state. 'But there was dialogue on the way between Iran and the United States on that issue, I think that should restart. 'I think Iran should make it very clear that it will not pursue further enrichment of uranium, or indeed progress to developing nuclear bomb capacity.' Meanwhile, Mr Harris said there was a 'massive effort' at EU level to support citizens and diplomats in Iran and Israel. Advertisement He said the EU was engaging with Germany, France and the UK to persuade the Iranians back into talks. 'It is almost impossible to overstate the potential danger of this, if there ends up being involvement of other countries, or indeed spill-over into other countries,' he said on Thursday. A medical centre in Israel was hit by a missile fired from Iran (Marc Israel Sellem/Pool via AP) 'Ireland, whilst far away in one way, does obviously have a number of citizens in both countries, have a significant number of troops in Lebanon, is very concerned about the situation in Palestine, so there's quite a lot of moving parts in this.' He told RTÉ radio: 'Nobody wants to see Iran with nuclear capabilities. Advertisement 'Everybody is aware of the dangers that Iran poses, but at the same time, the way you resolve these issues is through the talks that were scheduled to take place and which were obviously ultimately postponed as a result of Israeli (incursion).' He said Irish embassies had contacted citizens in Iran and Israel on Wednesday who would like to leave when the opportunity arises. There are around 29 Irish citizens and 12 dependants in Iran, and 200 Irish citizens in Israel. World Israel threatens Iran's top leader after missiles... Read More 'There's the massive effort at a European level to make sure we try to provide support to our own citizens and our own diplomats in what is becoming a really dangerous environment and a really difficult environment in which to operate from and function from as well,' he told RTÉ radio. He said that as the airspace is closed in Iran, evacuation would mean going over the land border, and for those in Israel it means travelling to Jordan or Egypt. 'There are a number of options available to us. We're working very closely with a number of member states, and we're also having to now, in a very serious way, also look at how we best support our diplomats, because the situation is deteriorating quite significantly in terms of being able to effectively operate in the country, and also obviously safety and security issues,' he said.
Irish Post
a day ago
- Business
- Irish Post
Protest outside the Dáil over Ireland's housing crisis
LARGE demonstrations have taken place outside the Dáil Éireann over Ireland's escalating housing crisis. The Irish Congress of Trade Unions organised the "Raise the Roof" protest to coincide with a parliamentary debate on the issue. The union labelled the crisis "the greatest political failure of our time". Ethel Buckley, deputy general secretary of SIPTU, stated: 'Workers are being priced out of home ownership and can only access housing by taking on unsustainable financial burdens.' She went on to add: 'This has serious consequences, not just on a personal level, but across society. We're seeing vital jobs go unfilled and more young people emigrating.' 'What's urgently needed is a complete overhaul and long-term strategy to provide secure, affordable housing.' Ireland's housing crisis has forced the government to navigate the wide gap in priorities between renters, landlords and property developers. Homeownership is simply out of reach for many young people due to high demand and low supply. According to recent data from property site Daft, average monthly rent has now surpassed €2,000 nationwide. In response, the government has tried to introduce policies that both limit rent hikes and encourage construction by developers and investors. Taoiseach Micheál Martin has stated that the government aims to considerably boost construction to meet national demand. However, Sinn Féin has repeatedly criticised the government for not taking enough action to resolve the crisis. The opposition described the situation as a severe emergency prior to the protest. Eoin Ó Broin TD, Sinn Féin's housing spokesperson, said: 'We're calling for measures that genuinely protect renters, not the weakening of rent pressure zones that we've seen so far, but a total freeze on rent increases and concrete support to bring costs down.' Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) are areas where rent increases are legally limited to shield tenants from sharp price hikes. The Raise the Roof campaign has widespread public support, but it remains uncertain whether this will alleviate Ireland's housing woes any time soon.
