Tired pilots fear retribution and the €130,000 loan that became a €455,000 debt

Most Irish pilots say the issue of pilot fatigue is poorly managed here while some say they do not report as unfit due to fatigue as they fear “punishment”, according to a survey by trade union group, the European Cockpit Association, writes Barry O’Halloran. The news prompted trade unionists to demand greater Government and regulatory oversight of the risk after the survey showed the Republic lags much of Europe in managing the problem.

Stephen Conneely reports that more than one million people visited whiskey distilleries across Ireland in the 12 month to June, outgrowing and outspending the tourism market in general.

Services trade between the Republic and Northern Ireland has bloomed into a €4.2 billion relationship overcoming ‘unnecessary’ barriers that, for instance, fail to recognise qualifications awarded each side of the Border, writes Mark Hennessy.

Dublin’s Beacon Hospital Group returned to an operating profit last year as revenues surged by 49 per cent. Gordon Deegan reports on the hospital’s first full year under Macquarie ownership.

Governments in the Republic and the UK face the same deadline for deciding how to pay for public service broadcasting and make it fit for the mid-21st century. But, for all its recent woes, the BBC is in a much better place than RTÉ, writes Hugh Linehan. Why is that?

Fiona Reddan advises on the impact of changes made to Ireland’s inheritance tax regime in the budget, which may ease the burden – somewhat – on families when they look to pass on the family home and other assets.

Twenty-five years ago a Dublin woman borrowed €130,000 from Bank of Ireland in a Life Loan. Now she owes €455,000 even though €100,000 of that loan has remained on deposit with the same bank all those years.

Green energy group Galetech has signed a partnership with Dutch group Skytree to use its technology to produce e-fuels, which can be used in aviation, shipping and heavy goods transport. Barry O’Halloran writes that the carbon-neutral products can be used in existing engines, offering a potential solution to aviation and shipping, which are challenging to electrify.

Finally, Anthropic has fired the starting gun on one of the largest-ever initial public offerings, unveiling its pitch for a listing that is set to be the biggest test so far of investor appetite for the artificial intelligence boom. It comes as social media giant Meta announced details of plans to raise $95 billion (€85 billion) in a stock offering to fuel its massive AI infrastructure spending.

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