The future of home buying: How Liberty Blue is using technology to transform property sales
Residential
The future of home buying: How Liberty Blue is using technology to transform property sales
Waterford-based estate agency's virtual viewings are changing the game for buyers looking to make the biggest purchase of their lives
Tina-Marie O'Neill
15:00
'When I'm buying a pair of shoes, I want to try them on. Why should it be any different for a home?' asks Regina Mangan, head of Liberty Blue Estate Agents, who is employing Apple's immersive technology to showcase new-build homes from her show suite in Waterford City
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The Journal
3 hours ago
- The Journal
UK urged to move faster on public contract ban on firms linked to Grenfell fire, including Kingspan
EFFORTS TO BAN companies linked to the Grenfell fire from UK public contracts – such as Kingspan – must speed up, a survivor of the fire has said ahead of the eighth anniversary. Bereaved and survivors of the blaze will gather tomorrow in west London for the annual commemoration of the disaster which claimed 72 lives. It is likely to be the final anniversary which takes place with the tower still standing in its current form, as demolition work could begin in September. Former tower resident Edward Daffarn, who had previously raised safety concerns and predicted a 'catastrophic event' at the tower seven months before the fire, said this year's memorial will be 'all the more poignant' for that reason. But Daffarn is hopeful a new documentary about the blaze, due to air on Netflix next week, will spur UK Government efforts to take action against companies linked to fire. He told the PA news agency: 'One thing that this documentary needs to do is put pressure on the Government to ensure that the companies involved are not able to access public funding, and I'm hoping that this documentary will accelerate that process.' Former tower resident Edward Daffarn had previously raised safety concerns Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo The Cabinet office confirmed in February that seven companies were facing possible bans. This includes Cavan-based insulation firm Kingspan, cladding firm Arconic, former Celotex owners Saint-Gobain, fire inspectors Exova, design and build contractor Rydon, architect Studio E and subcontractor Harley Facades. Advertisement It is understood investigations were launched into all of them in March, looking into whether any engaged in professional misconduct for the purposes of the Procurement Act 2023, potentially leading them to be debarred from public contracts. No timeline has been given for how long it might be before outcomes are known. A Kingspan source last year told The Journal that it's understood such public contracts are of little significance to the firm. The final Grenfell Tower Inquiry report, published in September, concluded victims, bereaved and survivors were 'badly failed' through incompetence, dishonesty and greed. The west London tower block was covered in combustible products because of the 'systematic dishonesty' of firms who made and sold the cladding and insulation, inquiry chairman Martin Moore-Bick said. He called out 'deliberate and sustained' manipulation of fire-safety testing, misrepresentation of test data and misleading of the market. Daffarn said the documentary will be the first 'that truly exposes and brings into people's living rooms' the 'cowardice of the corporates and how profit was put before people'. He said: 'I hope that people who watch the documentary come to understand that although Grenfell happened eight years ago, there's a lot that still hasn't been resolved and, as a consequence, the companies involved with Grenfell just seem to want to brush everything under the carpet and carry on making money. 'And I think the documentary clearly exposes how little these companies and individuals have been held to account for their roles in Grenfell.' On UK Government efforts, which Keir Starmer first announced last September, to debar companies, Daffarn said the process is 'too slow' and bereaved and survivors are 'still waiting' for companies to face consequences. He said anyone left angered by the documentary could avoid buying products from companies criticised in the report to 'make sure that those companies understand that there is a consequence of their actions'. Read Next Related Reads Grenfell inquiry finds Kingspan 'cynically exploited' unsuspecting market with 'false' safety claims Grenfell Tower report criticises 'decades of failure' by UK Government and takes aim at Kingspan Bereaved and survivors have long campaigned for criminal charges to be brought over the disaster. Police and prosecutors have previously said investigators would need until the end of 2025 to complete their inquiry, with final decisions on potential criminal charges by the end of 2026. The near 10-year wait for justice has been described by families as 'unbearable'. The decision to bring the tower block down was confirmed earlier this year and prompted mixed reaction, with some people feeling their views had not been properly taken into consideration. Sharing his own opinion, and acknowledging the difficulty others feel in seeing the tower regularly, Daffarn said: 'I think the anniversary is made all the more poignant by the fact that this is the last time that we will meet with the tower in situ. 'We haven't got justice yet. It feels wrong to be pulling the tower down while so much remains unresolved.' The UK Government said while some had hoped the building could remain in place as a reminder of what happened, others had reported this would be 'too painful'. The demolition process is expected to take around two years. A UK Government spokesperson said: 'This government remains committed to ensuring that what happened at Grenfell is never forgotten, and to delivering the change needed so it can never happen again.'
Irish Independent
12 hours ago
- Irish Independent
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Irish Examiner
17 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Taxpayer stumps up €444,000 claims against travel agent
The taxpayer is on the hook for claims totalling €444,412 from customers of the collapsed travel agency Platinum Travel. The Dublin-based travel agency went out of business on December 19 last and the annual report from the Irish Aviation Authority's Travellers' Protection Fund, Travel Agents' and Tour Operators Bond shows that the Platinum Travel Ltd bond covered only €47,143 of claims made in 2024. The total amount of claims from Clontarf-registered Platinum Travel Ltd's customers of flights and package tours totalled €478,112, offset by €13,443 in claims - refund credit notes, resulting in the €444,412 in outstanding claims being met by a Dept of Transport fund. A note states that there were insufficient funds within the bond to meet all liabilities without recourse to the Dept of Transport fund. The annual report explains that the Traveller Protection Fund's cash levels were insufficient to compensate all claimants for the 2020 to 2024 collapses, and an application was made to the Department of Transport to top up the fund. Between 2020 and 2023, €2.75m was transferred into the Traveller Protection Fund by the Department of Transport and a further €450,000 was requested from the Department on December 19, 2024 following the collapse of Platinum Travel Ltd. The €450,000 contribution by the Dept of Transport in 2024 was triple the €150,000 contribution made in 2023. A note states that a claim to recover the amounts met by the Dept of Transport Funds has been lodged with the company's liquidator. The Dept of Transport funds were received on January 30th 2025 and the Irish Aviation Authority 'concludes that the receipt of these additional funds allows the fund to operate as a going concern'. The most recent accounts for Platinum Travel show that it was loss-making in 2023 where it recorded a loss of €14,271. At the end of 2023, the company had accumulated losses of €68,799. Its shareholder funds totalled €76,201. The company's cash funds at the end of December 2023 amounted to only €2,990. The Irish Aviation Authority's Travellers' Protection Fund, Travel Agents' and Tour Operators Bond report states that the requirement for a bond may also be satisfied by a cash sum deposited with the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) and at December 31st last monies deposited in cash for such a purpose amounted to €24.76m compared to €41.62m at the end of December 2023. Ends
