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The week ahead in business: fintech summit, eurozone GDP and online safety panel

The week ahead in business: fintech summit, eurozone GDP and online safety panel

Organised around the theme of 'Trade, Technology, and Policy: The Changing Dynamics of Growth,' it will look at the challenges facing the US and EU economies. Speakers include Adriana Kugler, a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.
The annual one-day National Fintech Summit will be staged at Croke Park tomorrow.
It's billed as a platform for players in the Irish fintech sector to network and collaborate. Attendees will include banks, start-ups, SMEs and policymakers, and they will take part in discussions about EU regulations, tech transformation, open banking, global fintech trends and, inevitably, AI.
On Wednesday, the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA) will host a panel discussion on the Digital Services Act, which is an EU regulation that aims to protect people online by pushing platforms to address harmful content.
This event is being held in collaboration with the Economic Regulators Network and speakers will include John Evans, the Digital Services Commissioner with the Irish media regulator Coimisiún na Meán.
Members of Financial Services Ireland will convene on Friday at the Alex Hotel in Dublin for their annual lunch. Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe will deliver the keynote address at the event.
On the same day, Enterprise Ireland will host a semiconductor meet-up for people from the industry, with the aim of offering a platform for discussions on innovation and collaboration in their line of work.
This week the Central Statistics Office (CSO) will announce Ireland's trade balance for the month of March, showing the level of goods exported and imported.
There was a huge spike in exports in the first two months of the year, due to US importers stocking up their warehouses as a precaution against US president Donald Trump's tariffs. That trend probably continued into March.
On Thursday, Eurostat will release an initial estimate of the eurozone's economic growth for the first quarter of the year. It will also provide an Industrial Production report for March, looking at the performance of factories, mines and utilities, which might give us an insight into how much all the recent global uncertainty has affected the euro area.
There will be results on Tuesday from DCC, the leading Irish international sales, marketing and support services group which is listed in London but has its headquarters in Dublin.
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Conor McGregor refuses to pay pal's legal fees but has €17.5k red wine on Black Forge menu
Conor McGregor refuses to pay pal's legal fees but has €17.5k red wine on Black Forge menu

Sunday World

time2 hours ago

  • Sunday World

Conor McGregor refuses to pay pal's legal fees but has €17.5k red wine on Black Forge menu

McGregor charges €6.50 for a pint of Guinness in his pub, compared to his own-brand Forged Irish Stout's €6 price point Conor with Stephanie Simons in the Black Forge with two bottle of Petrus worth €35k Conor McGregor has been whining this weekend about losing his appeal case against Nikita Hand but he also enjoys a wine of a different nature — which is undoubtedly the most expensive served in an Irish pub. The MMA star has on his drinks menu at his Black Forge pub a bottle of Petrus 2005 red wine for an astonishing €17,500. Other bottles of red wine are in the more affordable bracket for most punters, ranging in price from €32 to a still pricey €690, while the cheapest bottle of white is €32. A rosé starts at €36, while bottles of champagne range from €150 to €780. McGregor charges €6.50 for a pint of Guinness in his pub, compared to his own-brand Forged Irish Stout's €6 price point. Most lagers in the pub are priced at €7.30. The Black Forge wine list 'I was taken aback at how someone going to a pub in a working class area like Crumlin would be even thinking about spending nearly twenty grand on a bottle of wine,' remarked one person in the pub, who highlighted the startling price on the menu. 'I was told that of course no one from Crumlin or Drimnagh would spend €17,500 for a bottle of wine, but that it is 'Conor's favourite', and he drinks it from time to time when he's in the pub.' It's unclear whether McGregor actually puts the huge cost of the French wine on his bill, but he would still be hit deep in the pockets either way. That's because online wholesale prices for that same bottle of wine show that it's fetching around €5,600 on the open market, leading to a profit of just over €12,000 if any customer decided to fork out for it in the Black Forge. The 2005 Petrus on the Black Forge wine list for €17.5K . 'Petrus is often considered the pinnacle of the Pomerol appellation and is undoubtedly one of the most revered wines in the world,' says one expert. 'The 2005 Petrus is dazzling. Rich, ample and explosive, the 2005 possesses magnificent density from start to finish.' Rambling McGregor is currently on holiday with his family on his yacht in the Mediterranean. On Friday he issued a rambling statement after Nikita Hand's latest victory, in which he vowed he would not be paying his pal James Lawrence's legal costs after the High Court threw out both of their appeals. McGregor had tried to challenge the outcome of a civil rape case Nikita Hand won against him last year when a jury found he had assaulted her in a Dublin hotel in 2018 and awarded her almost €250,000 in damages. McGregor had asked the Court of Appeal to allow in new claims that Ms Hand was punched and kicked by her then partner just hours after she says she was raped by McGregor in 2018. However, the allegations, made by Samantha O'Reilly and Steven Cummins, former neighbours of Ms Hand, were dramatically withdrawn by McGregor's legal team on the morning the case opened in July. Nikita Hand slammed the allegations as 'lies' and is now suing both the couple and McGregor for damages, claiming they had been involved in 'malicious abuse' of the processes of the Court of Appeal. The Sunday World called to the home of Samantha O'Reilly in south Dublin on Friday but a neighbour told us: 'She doesn't want to talk.' Conor with Stephanie Simons in the Black Forge with two bottle of Petrus worth €35k News in 90 Seconds - Monday, August 4th

Media's role in fighting corruption must be defended
Media's role in fighting corruption must be defended

Irish Examiner

time3 hours ago

  • Irish Examiner

Media's role in fighting corruption must be defended

This summer marks the 30th anniversary of the enactment of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995. Although commended for introducing statutory disclosure obligations for designated public office holders, including politicians, and the establishment of Sipo's predecessor, its significance runs deeper. The act ended a 79-year hiatus in Ireland's anti-corruption legislation. From the foundation of the Irish Free State, the legislation governing corruption in Ireland was housed in the Prevention of Corruption Acts 1889 to 1916. That legislation remained unamended on the Irish statute book until 1995, when modest revisions were introduced under the Ethics in Public Office Act. That act was introduced partly as a response to political indiscretions exposed in a number of scandals that gripped Ireland during the 1990s, including the Greencore affair, Telecom Éireann's site purchase, and the Beef Tribunal. But behind that legislative response lay another powerful force — the media. From the 1970s onwards, investigative journalism in Ireland began to develop, which led — among other things — to the exposure during the 1990s of conflicts of interest and ethical lapses among public officials. The media reports unearthed a culture of impunity and lack of oversight, and were significant in embedding corruption in the public discourse. The Greencore affair, for example, which arose out of the privatisation of Súicre Éireann, revealed weaknesses in the anti-corruption legislative architecture that had never been focused on before, namely conflicts between public duties and private interests. It centred on a small number of executives who bought a 49% stake in a subsidiary of the company for £3.2m and sold it back to the State a year later for £9.5m, prompting concerns over corporate governance and abuse of trust. Although statutory investigations found breaches of company law and corrupt practices by some of those involved, no criminal prosecutions followed. Then there was Telecom Éireann, a semi-state company, which found itself the subject of much media attention in 1991, arising from irregularities surrounding its purchase of a piece of land for use as its headquarters. The Beef Tribunal, established in 1991, on foot of an ITV World in Action programme, would go on to reveal questionable and uncomfortably close connections between big business interests and Irish political interests. These revelations helped shift public sentiment, fostering a climate more receptive to investigative journalism and expanding the public understanding of corruption. Before then, corruption was regarded as an overt form of bribery. This understanding was reflected in the legislation criminalising corruption, which dated back to 1889. Events throughout the 1990s showed that corrupt behaviour could constitute more clandestine activities where private interests and public duties collided, and an awareness of the connection between conflicts of interest and corruption. This growing public awareness, aided by the media, created the necessary political pressure for reform. The Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 was the first enacted legislative response. However, it was not the first attempt to introduce accountability into Irish public life. Four years previously, Labour TD Brendan Howlin initiated the Ethics in Government and Public Office Bill 1991 as a private members' bill. Although the bill was defeated, its principles were incorporated into the 1995 act. The Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 sparked a series of incremental reforms over the next 15 years, including the introduction of freedom of information laws, regulation of political donations, and the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Acts 2001 and 2010. Running in tandem with these legislative developments was persistent media scrutiny, reporting on events that formed the subject matter of various tribunals throughout the 1990s and 2000s. The media played a pivotal role in the establishment of the tribunals. However, its influence extended beyond this initial contribution, in that it was instrumental in informing the public about the proceedings and findings of the tribunals. The particular significance of the Moriarty, Planning, and Morris tribunals is that, for the first time, findings of corruption were made against individuals who were the subject of the investigations. The momentum for change, driven by media vigilance and Ireland's commitments under international and European instruments such as the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery, ultimately culminated in the Criminal Justice (Corruption Offences) Act 2018. The 2018 Act repealed Ireland's outdated corruption laws and replaced them with a unified modern framework. It introduced offences of active and passive corruption, trading in influence, knowingly giving gifts or advantages to facilitate the commission of a corruption offence, intimidation, and substantially increased penalties for corruption offences. The legislative inertia that had persisted for most of the 20th century eventually gave way to a resurgence of reform, driven in no small way by the media's persistent focus on corruption. As Mr Justice Humphreys recently observed, the media plays a vital role in shaping public discourse, a role that mirrors Percy Bysshe Shelley's famous description of poets as "the unacknowledged legislators of the world". This is not to suggest that the media alone dictates policy and legislation; rather, media coverage can influence legislators' behaviour, as Ireland's experience with corruption legislation has shown. Irish legislation is a product of the Oireachtas, which essentially comprises directly elected politicians. Dependent on public support, politicians risk losing political power if they ignore public opinion. Media reporting and commentary often guide public opinion, which in turn can influence the legislative agenda. The evolution of Ireland's anti-corruption laws is a testament to the enduring importance of the Fourth Estate. Ireland's path towards transparency and reform may not have been so meaningful without it. In a world facing growing threats of free-speech intimidation, protecting an independent Fourth Estate capable of speaking truth to power is more important than ever. Gail Nohilly is a barrister and knowledge lawyer and recently completed her PhD at the University of Limerick, tracking the evolution of Ireland's corruption legislation and the role of the media.

Conor McGregor launches petition declaring intentions to seek Irish presidency
Conor McGregor launches petition declaring intentions to seek Irish presidency

Sunday World

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Conor McGregor launches petition declaring intentions to seek Irish presidency

McGregor says the public's support will be 'instrumental in championing a more inclusive and democratic electoral process. MMA star Conor McGregor has launched a petition this evening declaring his intentions to seek the office of President of Ireland. In a Facebook post addressed to 'the esteemed citizens of Ireland and the Irish diaspora', McGregor proposes a petition advocating for a modification of the nomination process to allow his name to be included on the ballot. 'To the esteemed citizens of Ireland and the Irish diaspora, I, Conor McGregor hereby declare my intention to seek the esteemed office of President of Ireland. The current constitutional framework however presents a significant barrier to democratic participation. Conor McGregor's post on Facebook this evening The existing regulations mandate that a candidate must secure nominations from either twenty members of the Oireachtas or four county councils to be eligible for the ballot. This system, while intended to ensure a degree of political influence among candidates, inadvertently restricts the direct voice of the Irish electorate.' He goes on to say how the public's support will be 'instrumental in championing a more inclusive and democratic electoral process. "In light of this, I propose a petition advocating for a modification of the nomination process to allow my name be included on the ballot. I contend that the citizens of Ireland, both at home and abroad, should have the unhindered right to determine the candidates who appear on the presidential ballot. Therefore, I implore you to join me in this endeavour by signing this petition. Your support will be instrumental in championing a more inclusive and democratic electoral process, thereby empowering the people of Ireland to shape their own future.' Conor McGregor and his family News in 90 Seconds - Monday, August 4th

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