Tax take defies talk of Iran warn slowdown and is online security all just theatre

Stronger-than-expected out-turns in income tax, VAT and corporation tax in the first four months of the year have boosted public finances, despite the impact of the Iran war, the latest exchequer returns show. However, writes Eoin Burke-Kennedy, the absence of once-off receipts arising from the Apple tax ruling, which boosted last year’s numbers, left an exchequer deficit of €4.7 billion was the period compared to a surplus of €2.8 billion at the same time last year. Speaking of finances, Irish electricity prices are the highest in the European Union, new data from Eurostat has shown, with consumers here paying almost 40 per cent more than the average in the region - an extra €480 a year on average. However, Ciara O’Brien reports, gas prices are slightly below the EU average. Irish aircraft lessors could be caught in the fallout from the failure of Spirit Airlines, the troubled US carrier forced out of business last weekend by soaring fuel prices. Dublin-based aircraft lessors Aercap, SMBC Aviation Capital and others provided Airbus aircraft to the airline, which ceased operations on Friday, writes Barry O’Halloran. Galway County Council is bringing legal action against developer and businessman Gerry Barrett over his company’s alleged failure to comply with planning enforcement notices on a 48-home scheme in Connemara, as well as an obligation to lodge a €1 million bond with the local authority last year. Ian Curran has the details. Fingerprint and facial scans were supposed to make sure our private information was kept more secure, as was two-factor authentication. But, writes Ciara O’Brien, all too often fail to deliver on the added security that they promise. Is it all just a performance to lull us into a false sense of security ? Axa Insurance saw its revenue in Ireland soar by 53 per cent last year as it began underwriting health policies for the Laya Healthcare business it acquired in 2023. Joe Brennan reports that that helped the Irish business’s insurance underwriting profit more than double to €36 million, even as its general insurance claims costs rose. Car purchases and home improvements helped drive a surge in new personal loans last year to a record €2.9 billion, according to Banking and Payments Federation Ireland. The value of new car loans issued last year alone was 18.6 per cent ahead on 2024. Joe Brennan reports. Speaking of consumer cash, two leading economists told an Oireachtas committee that the Government’s special savings scheme will be a waste of time if it is not done right. Changes to the taxation of savings and investments are required to make sure the average person will want to invest in capital markets through the vehicle, say UCD’s Enda Hargaden and Trinity’s Barra Roantree, who said the Government should consider delaying the introduction of the personal investment account scheme this year. A founder, adviser and shareholder in a financial services company has been granted interim High Court injunctions restraining the firm and five other shareholders from taking any action in relation to his shares or his employment. The treatment of a security guard who worked for hundreds of hours without pay on the doors of shops in central Dublin by a firm which collapsed into liquidation last year amounted to racial discrimination, a tribunal has ruled. Stephen Bourke reports from the Workplace Relations Commission. The executive offices and boardrooms of the most successful companies are not full of people who know it all. They never were, writes Margaret Ward who writes about the leadership power of doubt . No doubt in the minds of postal workers as staff at An Post voted to accept a two-year deal on pay worth 5 per cent, with almost 87 per cent of Communications Workers Union (CWU) members who participated in the ballot backing the agreement. Emmet Malone has the details. On our Inside Business podcast this week, Daragh Cassidy, head of communications at price comparison website bonkers.ie joins Ciarán Hancock to discuss the rising cost of living and whether other energy suppliers will follow the lead of Prepay Power this week and increase their prices. UCC School of Computer Science & IT Prof Barry O’Sullivan also joins Ciarán to get under the skin of artificial intelligence and its poor image. Finally, seaweed is a key raw material for a broad spread of industries, from agriculture and food to health supplements and the beauty industry. There is no shortage of demand, but there is a shortage of supply. Olive Keogh talks to Gareth Murphy who, with Sam Roch-Perks, has establised a regenerative ocean seaweed farming company Óir na Farraige to tackle the shortfall. If you’d like to read more about the issues that affect your finances try signing up to On the Money , the weekly newsletter from our personal finance team, which will be issued every Friday to Irish Times subscribers.