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Roundup-Central Bank sees more new jobs

Wednesday, January 30 08:14:31

This year should see the first increase in employment since 2007, the Central Bank has said in its latest bulletin.

This is despite continued falls in government employment and a further reduction in the construction industry.

In its quarterly report, the bank said the "exceptional upheaval" in the labour market may be coming to an end.

Analysis in the report showed that, while 87,000 people emigrated in the 12 months to April, immigration continues at a high levels.

Almost 50,000 people arrived in the country in the same period, of whom almost half were Irish nationals.

"This has kept the figure for net emigration below levels recorded during the late 1980s," the report said.

The figures come on the back of revised estimates which showed growth last year slightly better than the bank expected, but poorer growth in 2013.

Irish banks are still dragging their feet in dealing with mortgage arrears, the Central Bank said yesterday. The Irish Independent

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At the launch of the bank's first quarterly economy bulletin of the year, the bank's chief economist, Lars Frisell, said the individual banks had an incentive to avoid restructuring loans and instead wait for an upturn in the property market. However, this was not in the interests of the wider economy as it perpetuated uncertainty, among other things. He added that the Central Bank, which regulates the financial system, had both carrots and sticks with which to compel the banks to act.

While acknowledging that more debt resolution measures were being rolled out by banks, the Central Bank report said the level of implementation, through either debt restructuring or loan recovery, was far from adequate.

"While there is a delicate balance to be struck here, it is critical that financial institutions move to deal decisively with the issue of long-term mortgage arrears," the report said.

According to the Central Bank's latest data, 112,916 mortgage accounts with E24.7 billion of debt were in arrears of 90 days or more at the end of September 2012. The Irish Times

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A situation similar to that of the horse DNA crisis in the beef industry could not happen in Greencore, according to the outgoing chairman of the ready meals group.

Ned Sullivan told shareholders at the company's annual general meeting in Dublin yesterday that thousands of audits are carried out each year at plants, internally, by customers, and externally, by regulatory bodies. "The reputation of the company is something hard-won. We do extensive risk management," he said.

Shareholders were also told by company chief executive Patrick Coveney that Greencore is "well positioned" for the year ahead, despite challenging market conditions in the UK, as the company reported strong revenue growth for the 13 weeks to December 28th.

In its first trading update of 2013, the Irish company, which moved its listing to London last year, reported revenue of £298.9 million for the 13 weeks to December 28th.

Greencore's own convenience food division recorded revenue of £285.8 million for the 13-week period to December 28th, an increase of 2.5 per cent on the same period the previous year. The company is now the biggest player in the "food to go" category in the UK, supplying major retailers and supermarkets including Waitrose, Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's, Morrisons and Marks Spencer.

The ingredients and property division, which represented 6 per cent of Group revenues in 2012, recorded revenues of £13.1 million, 11.6 per cent lower than the prior year. The Irish Times

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Treasury China Trust, the Singapore-listed company in which former Treasury Holdings owners Richard Barrett and Johnny Ronan are significant shareholders, said the total value of its China real-estate portfolio rose 4.8 per cent to 12.6 billion (E1.5 billion) in 2012.

"The 4.8 per cent rise continues the logic of being invested in commercial real estate here, particularly with Shanghai as your fortress. There were strong occupancy rates across the portfolio, and rent growth through expiring leases is very good," said Richard David, chief executive of TCT.

The company's strong performance reflected "the very strong demarcation between Treasury Holdings - a private company - and TCT, a listed company in Singapore".

The liquidator of Treasury Holdings has been in discussions Mr Barrett and Mr Ronan over the sale of two subsidiaries of the failed property developer in August, Treasury Holdings Real Estate Pte Ltd and Treasury Holdings (Shanghai) Property Management Co Ltd. Both were subsidiaries of Treasury Holdings and provided management services to TCT. The Irish Times

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Dublin city manager John Tierney was yesterday named as the first head of Irish Water as the company prepares to begin the complex task of merging more than 30 water authorities and charging consumers for water usage for the first time.

Mr Tierney will earn a salary of E200,000 - or E50,000 less than the salary cap for commercial semi-state bosses.

He will take up his three-year post as managing director in April, with his first major task to oversee the roll-out of the water-metering system.

It is the first major appointment for the new body, with other senior posts expected to be filled in the coming months.

Mr Tierney said he was looking forward to developing a world-class water authority.

"I am honoured to have been selected to lead Irish Water. It has been a great privilege to have worked in local government and particularly in my current role as Dublin city manager," Mr Tierney said. The Irish Independent