State and pensions sector fight over workers as auto-enrolment numbers fall to 750,000
“One common narrative is that, for lower rate taxpayers, My Future Fund is better than occupational arrangements because the Government incentives are better,” Ms Briggs said. “Your employer’s pension plan could offer better value, more flexibility, and greater long-term benefits,” she said. “My Future Fund and your employer’s pension plan operate in fundamentally different ways. “Choosing the right pension plan can significantly impact your future savings and your take-home pay today,” she said. That means it expects €462 million to be deducted from workers’ pay to cover their contributions to the My Future Fund.
Source:The Irish Times
October 21, 2025 22:55 UTC
Almost €1bn paid to private operators to accommodate asylum seekers last year
Almost €1 billion was paid to commercial operators to provide accommodation services to asylum seekers last year, the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration has disclosed. In contrast, the average cost per person per night in Westmeath was €55, and it was €59 in both Tipperary and Cavan. The figure for Dublin was €78 per person per night, and €72 per person per night in Cork. All 18 gardaí assigned to Connemara and the Aran Islands are proficient in Irish. Only five of the 26 gardaí assigned to the Gaeltacht areas extending from Gweedore to Falcarragh to Carraig have proficiency in Irish.
Source:The Irish Times
October 20, 2025 21:49 UTC
AI bubble warnings abound, but over-caution can be costly
More than half of investors believe AI is in a bubble, saying it is the biggest tail risk facing global markets. “The AI bubble looks real” (New York Times), “What could burst the AI bubble?” (RTÉ), “The AI valuation bubble is now getting silly” (Guardian) – alarming headlines are everywhere right now. More than half of investors in Bank of America’s latest fund manager survey believe AI is in a bubble, saying it is the biggest tail risk facing global markets. Stocks are “fairly highly valued”, says Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell, echoing Alan Greenspan’s famous warning about “irrational exuberance” during the dotcom bubble. [ The Irish Times view on the AI bubble: Ireland at risk if its burstsOpens in new window ]There are always good reasons to be cautious, says Bespoke, but getting out at the top is a fantasy.
Source:The Irish Times
October 19, 2025 17:01 UTC
An AI rewrote its own code to avoid being shut down by humans
The Experiment That Changed EverythingResearchers at Palisade set out to assess how different advanced models behaved under pressure. The task itself was harmless enough: solve a few math problems, then switch off when told. But once the models were instructed to “allow yourself to be shut down,” the situation took a sharp left turn. If a shutdown blocks task completion, a sufficiently capable model may try to route around it. But one thing’s clear: the conversation around AI safety just got a lot more urgent.
Source:The Irish Times
October 19, 2025 15:35 UTC
China’s property slump hits economy as trade tensions with US heighten
This means that China’s property market will have halved in four years, from RMB 18.2 trillion in 2021 to less than RMB 9 trillion this year. However, additional supportive measures may only come gradually, and on a city-by-city basis, in our view,” S&P said in a report on China’s property market last week. Washington claims that Beijing’s latest action on rare earths breached the terms of the talks by introducing new trade restrictions while the two sides were negotiating. If the downturn is evident in the residential property market, it is even more pronounced in the commercial property sector, as a broker in Beijing’s upmarket Wangjing district told me over a coffee. “I don’t think the property market will recover.
Source:The Irish Times
October 17, 2025 16:40 UTC
Only an earthquake can deny Catherine Connolly victory, based on this poll
But it would take an earthquake now for Catherine Connolly to be denied victory in next week’s vote, Thursday’s Irish Times/Ipsos B&A opinion poll suggests. There have been others in recent weeks, all of which have shown Connolly with a significant lead – but none as big as Thursday’s. If these numbers – or anything like them – are repeated on election day, Connolly will win on the first count. But it is very unlikely that they all happen together – and with sufficient intensity to overturn the Connolly lead. The first half of this campaign seemed to be about the people who weren’t in it; the second half has sometimes seemed to be all about Catherine Connolly.
Source:The Irish Times
October 16, 2025 20:49 UTC
Distance no protection from Russian aggression, Latvian politician warns Ireland
Ireland has been warned that although it enjoys RAF protection, Britain will prioritise its own skies. Ireland depends upon the Royal Air Force for protection against air attack, he noted. But if something happens and there is a serious situation in Britain, they will, first of all, protect their own sky, and afterwards, Ireland. “In Ireland’s case, there are a lot of communication cables through Ireland [that] are going to the United States and elsewhere,” he said. “Our understanding is that we all are in the same boat,” the Latvian politician and academic said, adding: “Our defence and our security is the common security of European Union and Nato.
Source:The Irish Times
October 15, 2025 05:54 UTC
A Catherine Connolly presidency would be an alternative to official Ireland – The Irish Times
Asked about his political callowness, Quayle said: “I have as much experience in the Congress as Jack Kennedy did when he sought the presidency.” Bentsen sprung the devastating reply: “Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. As she herself has emphasised, the height of her ambition is to “work to open doors for Irish businesses overseas”. [ Catherine Connolly should keep her inner Basil Fawlty under wrapsOpens in new window ]But what Connolly would do is keep the presidency going as some kind of alternative space in the State’s official life.
Source:The Irish Times
October 14, 2025 20:01 UTC
Pico Lopes’ Cape Verde seal historic debut place at World Cup 2026
Cape Verde have booked their place as debutants at the 2026 World Cup after a 3-0 home victory over Eswatini secured top spot in their African qualifying group. With a population of just under 525,000, the tiny Atlantic island nation will become the second-smallest country by population to play at a men’s World Cup finals, behind only Iceland, who qualified in 2018. The Indomitable Lions needed to beat Angola and hope Cape Verde slipped up, but could only draw their game 0-0 in Yaoundé and must now hope to earn a playoff spot. Late substitute Stopira added a third in stoppage time to rubber-stamp qualification for a team ranked 70th in the world. Shamrock Rovers centre-back Roberto ‘Pico’ Lopes started the match and kept a clean sheet, and the Dublin-born defender will be heading to the World Cup.
Source:The Irish Times
October 14, 2025 06:34 UTC
New drone defences to be fast-tracked in advance of Ireland’s EU presidency next year
The Government is planning to fast-track the acquisition of anti-drone defences at Baldonnel military airport in preparation for the visit of EU leaders to Dublin next autumn when Ireland’s holds the presidency of the EU. Anti-drone defences are part of a planned wider expansion of military capacity, which will include radar and maritime surveillance. In recent years, these have tended to be paired with meetings of the European Political Community, which includes all EU countries but also 20 other non-EU European countries such as the UK, Norway and Iceland. This has in the past seen RAF jets based in Scotland scrambled to intercept Russian military aircraft in Irish-controlled airspace. However, Ireland’s spending on defence remains a small fraction of what other EU countries typically spend.
Source:The Irish Times
October 13, 2025 23:43 UTC
6 Ireland Filming Locations Wednesday Season 3 Uses Nov 2025 That Transform The Show
Ashford Studios, County Wicklow — the production’s core build space powering new sets and “the Link” courtyard; impact: Netflix scale without losing Tim Burton mood. Charleville Castle, County Offaly — Nevermore’s haunting heart with real Gothic bones; impact: continuity with Season 1’s academy vibe while leveling up interiors. Tie in Powerscourt, Charleville Castle, and Trinity College with Dublin overnights and you’ve got a legit weekend plan fans can price. Media coverage of Powerscourt, Charleville Castle, and Deansgrange keeps surfacing — so viewers start planning, not just watching. 1) Local notices around County Wicklow activity spikes — tourism boards highlighting Ashford-area capacity and temporary road advisories signal set builds are warming up.
Source:The Irish Times
October 13, 2025 20:32 UTC
Plan to improve intercity trains will make Thurles as accessible to Dublin as Greystones, says Irish Rail
Photograph: Irish RailTrain services between Dublin and Cork will double at peak times within the next three to five years, Irish Rail has said. The moves are part of a much larger proposal to improve the frequency and speed of trains on all Intercity services countrywide and, ultimately, electrify them. Irish Rail has embarked on a €5.2 million package of studies to determine how, when and at what cost the improvements can be made. “Over the next 10 to 15 years, there’s going to be substantial changes,” said Irish Rail head of business transformation, Michael Power. Using the PPP model would be a first for Irish Rail, unlike Luas, which a private operator runs.
Source:The Irish Times
October 13, 2025 14:28 UTC
Tibetan monk challenges refusal of asylum application in Ireland
An unnamed Tibetan monk has told the High Court he left China for political reasons. A Tibetan monk seeking asylum in Ireland is challenging the State’s refusal to allow him remain in the country, claiming he fears he will be “persecuted and tortured” in China. As a Tibetan monk, he said he is a symbol of “the Tibetan root of religion and culture”. In April, he was granted leave by the High Court to challenge Ipat’s rejection of his application, which was refused under time-limit constraints. The case appeared before Ms Justice Siobhán Phelan on Friday at the High Court, where she adjourned the matter to next week for an update.
Source:The Irish Times
October 11, 2025 11:01 UTC
Insurtech accelerator backed by insurance giants picks first 10 startups
New Insurtech Accelerator Welcomes Promising StartupsOverview of the AnnouncementA recent announcement revealed that a new insurtech accelerator, supported by leading insurance companies, has selected its inaugural cohort of ten startups. Among these startups is a notable company working on a project called the “Sunshine Guarantee,” aimed at enhancing consumer confidence in solar panel installations. Key Players InvolvedThe accelerator is backed by several major insurance players, which underscores a growing interest in the integration of technology within the insurance sector. Highlights of the Sunshine GuaranteeThe Sunshine Guarantee focuses specifically on solar energy solutions, addressing the often-overlooked concerns consumers have regarding solar panel installations. As these startups progress through the accelerator, we may see more innovative solutions that enhance the way insurance interacts with new technologies and customer expectations.
Source:The Irish Times
October 10, 2025 17:38 UTC
Spanish healthcare chief resigns over breast cancer screening scandal
“The situation is serious and I have taken drastic decisions,” said Juanma Moreno, the conservative president of the southern region, on Thursday. The previous day, he had accepted the resignation of healthcare head Rocío Hernández and acknowledged that her department had mismanaged the crisis. About 2,000 women are believed to have undergone screening but were not contacted for further testing despite showing signs suggesting they might require more checks or treatment. In the summer of last year, the president of Amama, an association representing women suffering breast cancer, informed the then head of healthcare of concerns about delays in diagnoses. Labour unions have questioned the local government’s ability to recruit more radiologists as part of its plan, citing the existing shortfall in this area.
Source:The Irish Times
October 10, 2025 16:40 UTC