The Currency | Business & Finance Stories, Commentary & Investigations :The Currency

Stories

Startup Ireland hopes to back 1,000 new start-ups in five years. How does it plan to do this?

A briefing document obtained by The Currency reveals a plan that is big on ambition but with details still to emerge. This is what it says.

Tom Lyons

6th Mar, 2026 - 2 min read

Voices

Dan O’Brien: A dangerous new war – but limited economic threat to Ireland

As oil and gas markets react to escalating tensions, the key question for Ireland is whether higher energy prices will trigger another inflation shock – or remain contained.

Dan O'Brien

6th Mar, 2026 - 4 min read

Voices

Niall Sargent: When emergency becomes permanent, a broken model takes hold

With accommodation payments flowing to private providers since the early days of direct provision, is the State cementing a profitable enterprise model at the expense of a state-led, refugee-centred system?

Niall Sargent

6th Mar, 2026 - 4 min read

Stories

Shane Curran’s Evervault just raised $25m. Here’s how the deal came together

Founded in 2019, Evervault wants to encrypt all online sensitive data. It has just closed a series B round led by Ribbit Capital founded by Venezuelan-born billionaire tech investor Micky Malka.

Tom Lyons

5th Mar, 2026 - 4 min read

Stories

“A real opportunity to level-set pay gaps”: Employers face new EU salary transparency rules

Ireland is expected to transpose the Pay Transparency Directive into law by June, introducing a raft of new rules for employers to follow.

Jonathan Keane

5th Mar, 2026 - 7 min read

Top Stories

“If people look at me and say I’m crazy, I know I’m on to something”

Morgan Pierce, CEO of SolarSmart, retraces a career encompassing the early days of personal computing, Curves, cryptocurrency, and founding a company at 55.

Alice Chambers

6th Mar, 2026 - 17 min read

Can AI save local news?

The Philadelphia Inquirer and other regional outlets turn to AI to automate elements of reporting and expand coverage, writes Alexandra Bruell, The Wall Street Journal.

The Wall Street Journal.

5th Mar, 2026 - 3 min read

Private provision – Part 3: State still pays big hotel bills for refugee accommodation

Despite a 2024 pledge to shift away from reliance on hoteliers, the latest data shows hotel groups remain central to emergency accommodation as the State struggles to deliver its own purpose-built centres.

Niall Sargent

5th Mar, 2026 - 6 min read

Powell won, but the Fed might still lose

The current chair wields deep bipartisan support and personal independence, but Trump has a closer relationship to his successor and three years to tighten his grip, writes Nick Timiraos, The Wall Street Journal.

The Wall Street Journal.

4th Mar, 2026 - 8 min read

Private provision – Part 2: The offshore links of firms paid €1.2bn for refugee accommodation

From billionaire trusts to ownership dead-ends, The Currency examined the corporate structures of private providers with offshore links.

Niall Sargent

4th Mar, 2026 - 15 min read

Deutsche-led minority bondholders press on with transatlantic challenge to Ardagh deal

The packaging group’s recapitalisation is beginning to deliver improvements to its financial performance. Some holders of high-risk bonds squeezed out in last year’s transaction still want a better deal.

Thomas Hubert

4th Mar, 2026 - 5 min read

Cannabis, beer, and wellness: Meet Tilray Brands, Ireland’s newest publican

On Monday, the US lifestyle and pharmaceutical firm spent £33m buying up assets tied to troubled craft brewer BrewDog. Its Dublin outpost, which employs over 50 people, is among them.

Michael Cogley

3rd Mar, 2026 - 4 min read

Jack Dorsey’s latest far-out bet: An AI future with fewer employees

Block—owner of payment apps, bitcoin and music streaming—grew its workforce to nearly 13,000 during the pandemic, writes Angel Au-Yeung, The Wall Street Journal.

The Wall Street Journal.

3rd Mar, 2026 - 5 min read

“Reading Dostoevsky or Jane Austen, people are the exact same”

Michael Cogley

28th Feb, 2026

The west of Ireland has proven itself a rich stage for Colin Barrett with the author winning international acclaim for his stories. Now writing his second novel, he talks to Michael Cogley about "getting into the skin" of his characters, movie rights, and why he feels "lucky" to be part of the Irish writing tradition.

Top Voices

A new state savings scheme won’t fix Ireland’s broken savings system

If we are serious about building long-term financial resilience for households – and reducing long-term pressure on the State – this is the moment to step back and design a joined-up savings and investment framework that will still make sense in 20 or 30 years’ time.

Stephen Felle

5th Mar, 2026 - 7 min read

From “allocating funding” to a “development mindset”: A bid to make science work for the country

Under new CEO Diarmuid O'Brien, Research Ireland's inaugural strategy aims to transform the country's innovation output. Can thousands of new PhDs and a more entrepreneurial approach answer Mario Draghi's critique of European competitiveness?

Michael Cogley

4th Mar, 2026 - 5 min read

The worst of both worlds? Resetting rents in a market with no slack

Ireland’s experience over the past decade shows that rental crises cannot be managed indefinitely through emergency measures. Controls introduced as temporary responses tend to become permanent, and permanent systems need to be designed for the long haul.

Ronan Lyons

3rd Mar, 2026 - 7 min read

Joe Gill: Iran war explains why airline shares trade lower than other companies’

In a business exposed to pandemics and geopolitical threats, the risk of taking on debt is higher for airlines. This has consequences for their shareholders, whether they are governments or stock-market investors.

Joe Gill

2nd Mar, 2026 - 3 min read

Lessons from Frank: Back to school in Barcelona

A week at IESE Business School on Enterprise Ireland’s Leading Edge programme challenged 20 Irish business leaders to rethink strategy, leadership – and what we do about loyal employees like Frank Nash.

Paul McArdle

2nd Mar, 2026 - 5 min read

How Irish folk musicians put me back on my feet: Rewinding the week that was

The open mind and sheer energy of the current Irish music scene would do you good. It is tapping into a solid tradition without falling into the trap of fake purity.

Thomas Hubert

1st Mar, 2026 - 6 min read

What is amateurism and what is austerity? The GAA is in danger of confusing one for the other

With revenues rising and standards at an elite level, the GAA must decide how to protect amateurism without suppressing ambition.

Paul Flynn

28th Feb, 2026 - 5 min read

Brett Igoe: The last dance can’t be Twickenham — Ireland must kick on

Twickenham answered lots of questions about this team, and the reaction of the coaching staff showed it. It was Ireland's recalibration. Now comes the test of whether they can sustain it.

Brett Igoe

28th Feb, 2026 - 6 min read

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