
US chemical distributor ChemPoint opens Dublin headquarters
ChemPoint, which is a subsidiary of Univar Solutions, has already hired a number of employees in the Greater Dublin Area and is planning to add more.
These roles span critical functions including technical sales and market development, customer service, supply chain operations, regulatory and quality, and product management.
'We're thrilled to announce the opening of our new EMEA headquarters in Dublin, the first step in executing our strategic growth plan within EMEA,' said ChemPoint chief executive Austin Nichols.
READ MORE
'Dublin offers unparalleled access to exceptional talent and serves as a convenient hub for international travel connectivity, enhancing our ability to meet with customers, engage with supplier partners, and attend industry conferences and events to stay abreast of market trends.'
IDA Ireland chief executive Michael Lohan said Ireland 'remains a strong location for companies looking to expand into Europe and this decision to locate in Dublin underscores Ireland's attractiveness as a location for global solutions providers'.
ChemPoint provides products to more than 70 supplier partners and has more than 200 product lines globally.
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Irish Times
21 minutes ago
- Irish Times
WRC orders Tesco to rehire worker who was sacked last year after calling a manager ‘useless'
The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) has ordered Tesco to re-employ a worker it sacked last year for calling his manager 'useless' in a performance review meeting – after ruling the supermarket's management went over the top in dismissing him. Trade union SIPTU had accused supermarket bosses of 'circling the wagons' in response to a legitimate grievance and subjecting the worker to a 'crude exhibition of power' by upgrading a final written warning to summary dismissal to get rid of him. 'The emperor does not like being told that he isn't wearing any clothes,' the complainant's union rep said in a submission when the case came before the tribunal earlier this year. Denying warehouse operative Cathal Hussey's complaint under the Unfair Dismissal Act 1977, Tesco Ireland Ltd took the position that the manager's dignity was violated and the dismissal was 'justified'. READ MORE Vivian Cullen of the SIPTU Workers' Rights Centre, appearing for Mr Hussey, submitted that his client, a Tesco employee of 16 years earning €700 a week, had 'outstanding legitimate grievances which were being ignored by management' when he met with his line manager, Martynas Bajarunas for a performance review meeting on November 25th 2023. [ Tesco reports profits increase as Irish sales near €3.5bn Opens in new window ] According to Mr Bajarunas's account of the meeting, the claimant read from a 12-page document outlining unspecified 'concerns and issues'. 'At the end, he said to me: 'You are useless.'' The witness said he felt 'harassed, stressed and bullied' by the remark, adding later that he had made a formal complaint because he felt 'unsafe coming to work'. The complainant, Mr Hussey, did not give any evidence to the tribunal. The tribunal heard Mr Bajarunas filed a formal grievance under the company's bullying and harassment policy against Mr Hussey – who refused to participate in an investigation meeting in January 2024. The probe concluded Mr Hussey had committed a breach of the policy. The contents of the 12-page document he had produced and read were out of line with company policy and 'very concerning, unreasonable, disrespectful and improper', the investigator further concluded. Following a disciplinary meeting on January 19th, which Mr Hussey did attend, a company disciplinary officer decided there was 'serious misconduct because the dignity of [Mr Bajarunas] was violated', the tribunal heard. Mr Hussey appealed the sanction imposed, a final written warning. However, the senior human resources officer who heard the appeal, Mary White, decided to upgrade the sanction to summary dismissal, the tribunal was told. Ms White gave evidence that the 12-page document showed Mr Hussey's remark was 'not a heat-of-the-moment type of thing'. 'This was all put in writing, that he thought [Martynas Bajarunas] was useless, and he was giving out about other managers,' she said, adding that it was 'inappropriate behaviour to call someone 'useless'.' She believed relocation was 'not really an option' as there was 'no remorse and no apology'. Ms White agreed when Mr Cullen put it to her that bullying was 'inappropriate repetitive behaviour'. Mr Cullen put it to the witness that there was a single allegation that his client 'called someone useless' and asked whether she regarded that as 'a dismissible offence'. 'Yes,' Ms White said. Mr Hussey's further appeal of the sanction was upheld by a second company appeals officer. Adjudicator Eileen Campbell wrote in her decision that the final written warning 'should have remained the sanction and should not have been elevated'. The reason for escalating the sanction to summary dismissal had 'not been justified or explained to any degree of satisfaction' by Tesco, she wrote. 'I do not condone in any way the complainant's behaviour towards the line manager, which is unacceptable on any level,' she wrote. Upholding Mr Hussey's complaint, she rejected the union's application for full reinstatement – a remedy that would have meant the employer was liable to pay Mr Hussey back wages from the point of dismissal. Instead, Ms Campbell directed Tesco to re-engage the worker in employment by mid-August this year, with a final written warning to remain on his personnel file for a year. She directed that the period since his Mr Hussey's dismissal be treated as unpaid suspension.


Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Household lending continued to rise in June
Lending to households increased by €4.3 billion in the year to the end of June, new data from the Central Bank showed, the largest annual increase since 2009. Household deposits are also on the rise, along with home loans as inflation in the property market continues to grow. Net lending to households was €601 million in June 2025, up from €263 million in the previous month, mainly fuelled by mortgages. The latest money and banking statistics release showed loans for house purchases increased 4.4 per cent, or €3.7 billion, over the same period, continuing positive growth trends that have been in effect since May 2023. The growth rate has been picking up pace in recent months, with May recording a 4.2 per cent rise. READ MORE On a monthly basis, home loans were up €638 million in June. The rise was the second largest since December 2008, when loans to buy home rose by €643 million, falling short of the €658 million increase recorded in December 2024. Recent data from Banking Payments Federation Ireland showed mortgage drawdowns hit their highest level since 2008 in the six months to the end of June, topping €6.2 billion in the first six months of the year. Loans for consumption meanwhile were €70 million higher last month, and loans for other purposes were in negative territory. On an annual basis, loans for consumption contributed €933 million. Household deposits, meanwhile rose by €498 million in June, totalling €165.8 billion at the end of the month, with both term and overnight deposits rising. Annually, household deposits were up 6.1 per cent year on year, or €9.5 billion. That increase was driven by a €6.3 billion increase of deposits with a maturity up to two years. Net lending to non-financial corporations was €274 million in June, driven by short-term loans. On an annual basis, the lending rose 3 per cent, or €875 million, to €29.2 billion. Loans to insurance companies and pension funds were also positive during the month, rising by €5 million increase. Total bank lending to the Irish private sector was €417 million higher in June. On an annual basis, it was up 5.2 per cent – or €7.7 billion – in the year to the end of June, with lending to non-financial corporates up by €875 million. Loans to insurance companies and pension funds were slightly lower, declining by €3 million. The Central Bank also released Ireland's latest gross national debt figures, which put it at just short of €228 billion at the end of June. That was a rise from the €224.1 billion recorded at the end of March. The figures include €135 billion in Government bonds, and more than €22 billion in Exchequer notes. The level of savings certificates and national solidarity bonds has remained relatively stable, at €5.7 billion and €6.1 billion respectively.


Irish Times
3 hours ago
- Irish Times
Inheritance tax reform is unlikely to be able to keep everyone happy
One of the contentious issues during the general election campaign was inheritance tax . And both of the big Coalition parties made promises to cut the burden further in the years to come and to look at the 'fairness' of the system. The recently-published Tax Strategy Group papers – drawn up by civil servants to outline options for budget day – have taken the debate further, scoping out possible reforms. Whatever happens here, there will be big debate. So what are the options? 1. Do nothing: There is limited room for manoeuvre in the €1.5 billion budget tax package, promised in last week's Summer Economic Statement. So the Coalition parties could decide to do nothing. While commitments were made in the manifestos of the two big parties, the promises were not repeated in the Programme for Government. That said, both parties used rising house prices as a reason to increase the bands in the last budget. And those property prices have continued to rise. READ MORE 2. Increase the thresholds: In Ireland, as in most other countries, inheritance tax is paid by the person inheriting the money, rather than coming from the estate, as it does in the UK and US. The amount of inheritance tax you pay depends on your relationship to the person you are inheriting from – known in tax jargon as the disponer. For spouses and civil partners, inheritances are free of tax. There are then three tax free thresholds over which you pay the 33 per cent tax rate. The tax involved is formally known as capital acquisitions tax – which also covers gifts – and the thresholds are lifetime limits. So if you inherit from someone, large gifts (anything over €3,000 given in a single year) you received are also counted in. In last October's budget, the group A threshold which applies to children inheriting from a parent (or vice versa) rose to €400,000 from €335,000 previously. The group B threshold applies to brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, and grandchildren of the person giving the gift or inheritance. It rose in the last budget from €32,500 to €40,000. The group C threshold, applying to everyone else, rose from €16,250 to €20,000. The total cost was €88 million to the exchequer in a full year. Special rules apply in some particular cases, such as foster children and inheritances by parents from their children, as well as in other limited cases. Further increases in the main thresholds would be the cleanest budget measure. The Fianna Fáil manifesto promised to review the thresholds each year while Fine Gael said it would aim for thresholds of €500,000, €75,000 and €50,000 for the three categories – though it did not give a timescale for it. Might a rise in the Group A threshold to €450,000 be on the cards, with B rising to €45,000? 3. Focus on the Group B threshold. In a recent answer in the Dáil, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said the Government would ask that the specific issue of the relatively low level of the B threshold relative to the A one would be examined by the Tax Strategy Group (TSG). This is seen by some to unfairly disadvantage some family relations – for example those inheriting from aunts and uncles can inherit €40,000 tax free, compared to those inheriting from parents, where the figure if €400,000. People who do not have children feel particularly strongly on the issue. The TSG points out that 70 per cent of those who received a substantial inheritance received it from their parents – and that the Irish legal system differentiates in other areas between direct familial relationships and more distant ones. Because of the level of tax relief which applies to children inheriting from their parents, the amount of inheritance tax raised under the Group B threshold – €339 million last year – was actually higher than the than Group A total, at €298 million. (When gifts are added in, the total revenue from Group A remains slightly higher.) This means reform of the Group B threshold would not come cheaply. While the officials warned that it was impossible to give a precise estimate, they said that giving those in Group B the same €400,000 threshold as children in Group A would cost a maximum of €300 million a year. Of course a smaller increase in the Group B threshold would also be an option. 4. Introduce new reliefs: Another option to help heirs beyond direct children would be to allow the person making the gift or inheritance select one or two people who could benefit from the Group A threshold. This would also be potentially costly to the exchequer and thought would be needed in framing any new rules – to ensure, for instance, that children were not disadvantaged. 5. Reforms with no cost to the exchequer: Government officials tend to put forward options which are unlikely to happen, as well as likely runners. The TSG report points out that if the Government wanted to merge the A and B threshold without any cost to the exchequer, it could create a single threshold at €151,500. This might please nieces and nephews receiving inheritances, but would leave children much worse off, as a lot more of what they get would be exposed to the 33 per cent charge. It would, however, be in line with the report of the Commission on Tax and Welfare , which reported in 2022 and called for a significant cut in the Group A threshold. 6. Raising money: Perhaps to annoy their political masters, the civil servants also scoped out ways of raising more money. One was, as in countries such as France, to charge a higher rate on larger inheritances – and a much smaller one on smaller amounts. Removing the tax thresholds entirely and having a sliding scale of rates from 1 per cent on amounts below €40,000, rising gradually to 40 per cent on amounts over €400,000 would raise close to €1 billion extra for the exchequer. Another was – again as recommended by the Commission on Tax and Welfare- to reduce the relief available to people inheriting farms or businesses which allows for a 90 per cent reduction in liabilities and also tax-free thresholds. This also looks unlikely seeing as the Programme for Government promises to take new measures to boost farm succession and 'support farm transfers by reviewing the tax-free threshold for Capital Acquisitions Tax'. Any reforms in Budget 2026 are likely to give, rather than take.