No wonder it put Valeo’s creditworthiness at B-, which is six levels deep into what’s considered junk status. It isn’t surprising, therefore, to see reports recently that Bain has hired investment bank Houlihan Lokey to explore potential asset sales. Valeo was formed as Origin Enterprises merged its Odlums, Shamrock and Roma brands with Batchelors in 2010 in a deal backed by UK private equity firm CapVest. The Irish unit now only accounts for about a fifth of group sales. It will probably appeal to another private equity firm.

Irish start-up Glitch has raised €2 million in seed funding to support its growth as it aims to simplify digital advertising. The company, which is based in Dogpatch Labs in Dublin, is targeting lean marketing teams and boutique agencies with its AI-powered ad platform that can help business-to-business marketers launch digital campaigns in minutes. Founded by Aisling Browne and Kingsley Kelly, Glitch automates repetitive, data-heavy tasks in the campaign setup, targeting, budget allocation and daily optimisation. “Digital advertising shouldn’t feel like decoding a foreign language,” said Aisling Browne, chief executive and cofounder of Glitch. “In a crowded digital marketing landscape, Glitch stands out because it delivers measurable results for its clients,” said Niall McEvoy, managing director of venture at Elkstone.

Photograph: Pablo Porciuncula/AFP via Getty ImagesTalks at Cop30 only began on Monday afternoon but already the climate summit has its first deadline and it’s a tight one. Tired of foot-dragging by richer countries on key issues such as climate finance and emissions cuts, they want proof that there is genuine engagement by all. Brazilian member of the Chamber of Deputies, Celia Xakriaba Nunes Correa, gestures as she speaks to the press during COP30. Stiell warned countries that could not continue and signalled they would have to contribute more to keep the agency afloat. [ Cop30: as the window for meaningful action narrows fast, the stakes couldn’t be higherOpens in new window ]

Elon Musk has reportedly negotiated a performance-related package with the shareholders of Tesla worth a trillion dollars (€864.9 billion). To bag it, he must sell 20 million Tesla cars, 10 million self-driving car subscriptions, one million humanoid robots and one million robotaxis. (For context, a trillion dollars has twelve zeros: 1,000,000,000,000.) Elon Musk has reportedly negotiated a performance-related package with the shareholders of Tesla worth a trillion dollars. In a direct call to Mark Zuckerberg and the world’s billionaires she said, “there’s a few people in here that have a lot more money than me.

Yellow rain alerts and warning of spells of heavy rain and possible localised flooding are in effect for eight counties. Photograph: Sam Boal/CollinsStatus yellow rain alerts and warnings of spells of heavy rain and possible localised flooding are in effect for eight counties. Bands of “persistent rain” are forecast to move north throughout the day, and this rain will be heavy and prolonged, especially across Munster and south Leinster, Met Éireann said. Two status yellow rain warnings are in place, the first of which lasts until 2pm for counties Cork and Kerry. Both warn of spells of heavy rain possibly resulting in localised flooding, difficult travelling conditions and poor visibility.

Denis O'Brien said the State is 'complicit in facilitating global tax avoidance' by major US technology giantsBusinessman Denis O’Brien has described graduates emerging from Ireland’s colleges as “entitled” and referred to the State’s corporate tax regime as “digital colonialism” in a broad-ranging speech on Tuesday on the challenges facing the country. “In Ireland, we need to reform all parts of the Government and its administration,” he said. But while he noted that tech giants having data centres in Ireland are part of the system and something needs to be done to address tax-collection concerns, he insisted that the Republic needs to become a European leader in data centres. Data centres will be a huge driver of FDI and key to our digital services economy.”He noted there are more than 10 data centres waiting to be connected to the electricity grid, and more awaiting connection to the gas network. Mr O’Brien said the Government should ask big Irish companies to make specialist senior managers available for secondment to help oversee big projects.

It forms part of a broader and increasingly co-ordinated assault on public service media on both sides of the Atlantic, with implications that stretch well beyond the borders of the United Kingdom. Her comments were seized upon by the right-wing British press, long hostile to the corporation. The BBC has no shortage of opponents on the British right who insist it is captured by a metropolitan liberal-left elite. Large public broadcasters are hardly without flaws. Public service broadcasters everywhere must innovate and adapt to a transformed media environment.

Cliff Taylor looks at a new report from the Department of Finance and how Ireland's younger generation may end up with end up paying higher taxes.

And in the classical world you don’t really learn very much about music in a certain way; you learn how to perform. “I know this is a controversy in writing in general, but I don’t know if anyone can write from another person’s perspective,” she says. There has been renewed interest in Buckley since the release of Amy Berg’s documentary It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley, earlier this year, which Wasser agreed to take part in. “The thing is, I really understand the fascination, and the longing for memories and shared information, because that person was that spectacular,” she says. There is no talk about the music, really, and it is at times sort of skewed, or lopsided.” She sighs softly.

Arachas Corporate Brokers, an insurance broker group chaired by former minister for finance Charlie McCreevy, paid €25 million in dividends to its parent last year as revenue and earnings continued to grow. Revenue at Irish supplement company Revive Active is set to hit €21 million this year as the company undertakes a big expansion, with new placements across Europe and with “significant growth” projected. Tech giant Dell Technologies is to collaborate with virtual production company Studio Ulster to develop state-of-the-art production facilities, support advanced production and fuel the studio’s growth. Arts and culture reviews have been a staple of newspapers almost since day one, but what is their future now as print retreats and the online world fragments? Cantillon looks at what Kingspan’s trading update tells us about the AI boom, while also considers the future of Valeo Foods and Airbnb’s tourism awards.

Healthcare technology company Clanwilliam saw revenue and profit rise in the year before it was bought by global private equity company TA Associates. The company, which is now being rebranded and launched as Lanas Healthcare Technologies with more than $115 million of acquisition funding, saw revenues rise to €103 million in 2024. That was up more than 7 per cent from €96 million the year before, with operating profit rising 10 per cent to €29.73 million. Pretax profit at the Irish-founded company, which specialises in electronic healthcare record technology, was €11.34 million, almost double the €6.52 million recorded in 2023. Clanwilliam, which was founded by Howard Beggs, was bought by TA in March 2025 in a deal worth around $450 million.

The study found no evidence that the protective effect of multilingualism depended on the language learned. Photograph: iStockLearning to speak one or more new languages can slow biological ageing and protect the brain against age-related cognitive decline. So says new research reported in Nature Ageing, by scientists at Trinity College Dublin (TCD), the Basque Center On Cognition, Brain and Language in San Sebastian and the Latin American Brain Health Institute in Santiago, Chile. “Our results provide strong evidence that multilingualism functions as a protective factor for healthy ageing,” said Agustín Ibáñez, professor of global brain health at TCD, who co-led the research. Ageing clockA “bio-behavioural ageing clock” method was used to compare the participants’ predicted biological age, based on health, cognition, education and lifestyle factors, with their actual chronological age.

Seemingly plausible clips featuring Irish or international figures – typically with a financial background – talking about a new investment opportunity. Garda figures show a 21 per cent increase in investment fraud in the last three months and the sums of money are significant. Investment scams totalled €31 million last year and the average loss in recent months has been €30,000 to €40,000, with some losing significantly more. While it may be like a game of “Whack-a Mole”, online platforms need to be pushed to do more to police this activity. The advice to those browsing investment options online is that if something seems too good to be true, then it almost certainly is.

Glitch, a Dublin, Ireland-based provider of an AI-powered digital advertising platform, has raised €2 million in Seed funding. InvestorsThe round was led by Elkstone, with participation from Gaingels, HBAN, and several European angel investors. Glitch Use of FundsThe company will use the funds to grow its commercial teams, support international expansion, and launch new product features. About GlitchFounded by Aisling Browne and Kingsley Kelly, Glitch is an Irish startup based in Dogpatch Labs, Dublin, that aims to simplify digital advertising for business-to-business marketers. Designed for efficiency and ease of use, Glitch empowers small marketing teams to run high-performing campaigns without the complexity of traditional ad management systems.

In 2024, more than 2,000 Irish students were studying in the Netherlands. There are almost 400 English-taught undergraduate degree programmes in the Netherlands, which is by far the most popular study destination for Irish students going abroad. In 202 4 , there were more than 2,000 Irish students studying in the Netherlands. In terms of overall popularity, Groningen tops the destination charts for Irish students. From a subject perspective, the most popular disciplines with Irish students in the Netherlands are psychology, business/economics and physiotherapy.