Germany's border controls will fail within weeks, police warn
Friedrich Merz, the conservative chancellor, took office this month with a promise to 'end illegal immigration' and use 'every measure available under the rule of law' to prevent irregular migrants from entering German territory.
His interior minister Alexander Dobrindt promptly ordered border police to start turning back asylum seekers, with immediate results. Last week, 739 migrants were rejected at the border, a 45 per cent increase on the rate before the new regime was introduced.
However, this week the German Police Union claimed that the system was already on its last legs.
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BreakingNews.ie
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Michael O'Leary criticised for ‘drive-by commentary' on Dublin metro
Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary has been criticised for his 'insulting' comments on a metro for Dublin, which he called a 'waste' of taxpayer money. The 18.8km rail line, most of which will be underground, is to run from north of Swords to Charlemont in the south of Dublin city centre. Advertisement Various metro projects for the capital have been proposed in recent decades, but none have proceeded to the building stage. On Tuesday, the Government announced that the MetroLink project would get a €2 billion boost in funding as part of the national development plan, in what Taoiseach Micheál Martin said was 'a very definitive commitment to the metro'. While Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe indicated the latest estimated cost for the MetroLink was €11 billion, Mr O'Leary claimed it would cost €20 billion, 'so about a billion a kilometre'. 'Dublin Airport doesn't need it, Dublin Airport passengers won't use it – they're already well-served by buses,' he told RTÉ Radio on Wednesday, while claiming that less than a third of the airport's passengers use buses. Advertisement He said that while the tube in London runs from Heathrow and through 'all of London', the Metro will only serve a section of Dublin city's residents – around 100,000 people, he claimed. 'Here's the madness of this. This thing is going to start at Stephen's Green in the morning. If you want to get to our first wave of departures, which leave at about 6.30 in the morning, you need to be at the airport at 5.30am. 'Are you seriously going to drive into the centre of Stephen's Green, where there's no car parking, to get this metro to get to Dublin Airport for 5.30 in the morning? No, you're not. 'Let me give you the alternative scenario: for €100 million, this year we could buy 400 buses, and 400 buses would provide exactly the same capacity as this metro from Dublin Airport, in through Ballymun, in through Drumcondra, on bus lanes that already exist.' Advertisement He claimed the plan had not been properly costed and hit out at the Government's handling of public finances. 'This Government wasted €330,000 on a bike shed, imagine what they do with an 18-kilometre underground train from an airport?' Micheál Martin announced two billion euro funding for the metro project (Phil Noble/PA) He also criticised comments by Mr Martin, who said the Irish capital will not be sustainable without a metro. 'Does he not understand that the buses actually will all be electrified by the end of this decade, which will actually be greener than light rail?' Advertisement Labour TD Duncan Smith said Mr O'Leary's criticisms of public infrastructure were as sure 'as night follows day'. 'Dubliners are stuck in daily gridlock. MetroLink is their best chance at affordable, reliable transport that serves communities, not corporate profits. 'As a consistent advocate for MetroLink in Swords, I find it insulting to hear this kind of drive-by commentary from someone who clearly doesn't rely on public transport to get to work. 'Dublin deserves better than a transport plan from a billionaire whose only experience with buses is when he is pretending to be one.' Advertisement When asked about his endorsement of Enterprise Minister Peter Burke and junior minister Robert Troy during the general election campaign, Mr O'Leary claimed 'they're not in government' and criticised Mr Martin again. 'I endorsed Peter Burke, who actually topped the poll despite the criticism. I also endorsed Robert Troy – and they're not the government.'
Times
18 minutes ago
- Times
Goldman Sachs boss: City's status is at risk
London's position as a global financial centre is 'fragile', the head of Goldman Sachs has warned. David Solomon, 63, said a combination of Brexit and not retaining increasingly mobile talent and capital put the City's status at risk. 'The financial industry is still driven by talent and capital formation. And those things are much more mobile than they were 25 years ago,' Solomon told The Master Investor Podcast. • Rachel Reeves refuses to rule out wealth tax despite fresh warnings Solomon is one of the world's most powerful investment bankers and has been chief executive of Goldman Sachs, which has about 6,000 employees in the UK, since 2018. He said he was 'encouraged by some of what the current government is talking about in terms of supporting business and trying to support a more growth-oriented agenda. But if you don't set a policy that keeps talent here, that encourages capital formation here, I think over time you risk that.' On July 15, Rachel Reeves unveiled a number of measures aimed at cutting red tape in Britain's financial services sector as part of attempts to kickstart the economy. The chancellor said in her Mansion House speech that Labour placed financial services, one of eight key growth sectors under the industrial strategy, 'at the heart of this government's growth mission'. However, there has been speculation the Treasury could target profits in the banking sector, which have been boosted by higher interest rates, with tax rises to help bolster the government's fiscal position. Reeves with Solomon and his Goldman Sachs co-CEOs Kunal Shah, left, and Anthony Gutman, right, in Wednesday's meeting SIMON WALKER/HM TREASURY Reeves is facing pressure over reforms to the non-dom tax regime, with research by New World Wealth, an intelligence firm, recently suggesting Britain has lost 18 billionaires over the past two years, more than any other country in the world. In the podcast, Solomon said: 'Incentives matter. If you create tax policy or incentives that push people away, you harm your economy.' Reeves also pledged in her speech last week to make 'meaningful reforms' to ringfencing, rules brought in following the 2008 financial crisis which forced lenders to legally separate their high street businesses from riskier investment banking divisions. • Why is the FTSE 100 so high when the UK economy is stuttering? Solomon pressed the chancellor, with whom he met in 11 Downing Street on Wednesday along with his co-CEOs Kunal Shah and Anthony Gutman, to 'follow through', saying: 'It's a place where the UK is an outlier, and by being an outlier, it prevents capital formation and growth. 'What's the justification for being an outlier? Why is this so difficult to change? It's hard to make a substantive policy argument that this is like a great policy for the UK. So why is it so hard to change?' The ringfencing regime has also faced criticism from the bosses of some of Britain's biggest banks, who called on the chancellor in April to abolish the rules, arguing that they were inefficient and had been superseded by other reforms.
BreakingNews.ie
18 minutes ago
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Basketball Ireland 'assessing next steps' after being drawn with Israel for Women's qualifiers
Basketball Ireland said they are "assessing the next steps" after being drawn with Israel for the Women's EuroBasket 2027 qualifiers. James Weldon's side will be in qualifying Group A, along with Israel, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Luxembourg, following Wednesday's draw. Advertisement The two sides met in a controversial qualifier in the Latvian capital, Riga, in February of 2024, despite public pressure to boycott the game over Israel's bombardment of Gaza. Ireland are due to travel to Israel for an away game on November 18th. In a statement, Basketball Ireland said: "Basketball Ireland is extremely alarmed by the ongoing humanitarian situation in Gaza and as such we are assessing our next steps following today's FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2027 Qualifiers draw, which saw Ireland drawn in Group A alongside Israel, in addition to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Luxembourg. "Basketball Ireland have spoken to FIBA Europe subsequently and are awaiting clarifications on a number of matters. Advertisement "Basketball Ireland will also be liaising with players, coaching staff, Sport Ireland, the Government, and other stakeholders over the coming days and we will provide an update next week." Ireland are due to begin their FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2027 Qualifiers campaign with back-to-back home games against Luxembourg on November 12th, followed by Bosnia and Herzegovina on November 15th, before an away game against Israel on November 18th. "Upon commencement of the competition, Basketball Ireland would be subject to a fine of up to €80,000 should Ireland fail to fulfil their first fixture with Israel, while failure to play the return game would lead to a fine of up to €100,000 and removal from the FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2027 Qualifiers, as well as the FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2029 Qualifiers," Basketball Ireland said. "Should Basketball Ireland elect to withdraw from the FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2027 Qualifiers campaign entirely before they commence, a fine of up to €30,000 would be applied, while FIBA Europe rules state that they 'may impose additional sanctions according to the FIBA Internal Regulations - Book 1 - General Provisions (Chapter 6)', which includes 'disqualification from a competition in progress and/or exclusion from future competitions'."
