Buying an older home with a poor energy rating? You’ll probably pay a higher mortgage rate – The Irish Times

EirGrid has settled terms to provide a national grid connection to Echelon’s proposed data centre near Arklow, potentially prompting other promoters to ask why their projects can’t secure connections to the electricity system. Arthur Beesley has the story.

In Smart Money, Cliff Taylor notes how buyers of older homes are being penalised for their poor energy ratings with mortgage rate offers increasingly favouring those with an energy-efficient property. If you’d like to read more about the issues that affect your finances try signing up to On the Money, the weekly newsletter from our personal finance team, which will be issued every Friday to Irish Times subscribers.

In our in-depth Agenda piece, Joe Brennan looks at how newly rich families in Ireland (who have made vast sums from selling their businesses or assets) are putting their money to work via secretive firms.

Dunnes Stores has been cleared by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to buy a company that currently operates a profitable SuperValu store in Co Kildare. Barry J Whyte has the details.

In wide-ranging interview of the week, Laura Slattery talks to Prof Laurent Muzellec, dean of the Trinity Business School, about the challenges posed by AI. “The threat is that we will deskill,” he says.

In his weekly column, John FitzGerald looks at out history of emigration and outlines why we need more returning emigrants and foreign nationals to come here and fill important jobs to bolster the economy.

Aviva in Ireland is getting back into the Irish health insurance market, eight years after exiting the sector. It has set up a joint venture with a small group of experienced industry professionals. Joe Brennan reports.

This week’s summit of EU leaders in Brussels involved disagreements over the long-proposed capital markets union, with the thorny issue of tax harmonisation again rearing its head, something that Taoiseach Simon Harris was quick to reject. In his analysis piece, Jack Power outlines the political tensions that played out at the summit.

Irish Independent publisher Mediahuis Ireland is in talks to acquire online news provider The Journal and sister sports publication and podcaster the42.ie, writes Joe Brennan.

Michael Stanley, chief executive of housebuilder Cairn Homes, has been chosen as The Irish Times Business Person of the Month for March, a month when it announced record revenue and a strong pipeline of new homes.

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