Latest news with #TheShedDistillery
Irish Times
11-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Dublin's Metrolink project could go 40% over budget and leave many homes ‘grievously impacted'
The Metrolink , Dublin's proposed underground railway, could go 40 per cent over budget and leave many homes and businesses 'grievously impacted', its programme director has warned. In his first interview since taking office, Dr Sean Sweeney, the New Zealand mega-project engineer, told the Business Post that the most recent 2021 cost estimates of €9.6 billion will have risen due to construction inflation and that the 2035 deadline is likely to be missed. 'Now since 2021 we have had well north of 20 per cent construction escalation. So do the math,' Sweeney said. 'The price is going to be some result of that simple multiplication. But we're doing that work now.' Sweeney said the Government will have to face down fierce public opposition to Dublin's MetroLink as it impacts on communities. READ MORE 'I deliver what I call 'nation-building projects', which make countries better. You leave the country better off. But that doesn't mean everyone is untouched. Some people get touched. Some people get grievously impacted. But the nation or the city is better off,' Sweeney said. Distilleries pause production as uncertainty grows amid US tariff tensions The vast majority of distilling in Ireland has been paused as US trade tension and heightened competition combine to hit the spirits sector, according to the co-founder of one of the country's most successful distilleries, a report in the Sunday Indepedent reveals. Pat Rigney, who co-founded Drumshanbo Gin-producer The Shed Distillery alongside his wife, Denise, said many of the country's distilleries were going through a tough time with most distilleries temporarily halting production. Pauses were happening across the industry, he added, hitting large and small distilleries alike. 'I think since January 20, the world has changed with the new US administration,' he said. 'That was then but now we are in a different world, a very uncertain world. 'I'm not sure if you are aware, but the vast majority of distilling in Ireland has paused at the moment due to the challenges.' Irish data centre builder Echelon to expand in Europe, eyeing up sites in Italy and Spain Irish data centre builder Echelon has been seeking out sites in mainland Europe for new centres as part of an expansion strategy, the Business Post reports. Damien Gaynor, the company's chief marketing officer, said the company intended to build in Spain and Italy. He was speaking to the Business Post after the launch of a €3.5 billion data centre project in Arklow, Co Wicklow. Echelon's business model is to build centres and then rent to a tech giant. It is led by property developer Niall Molloy. It has a number of data centres in Dublin, including one in Clondalkin, used by social media giant Tik Tok. However, growth in the Dublin region has stagnated due to a moratorium on data centres.
Irish Independent
11-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
‘Since January 20, the world has changed' – Distilleries pause production as uncertainty grows amid US tariff tensions
Pat Rigney, who co-founded Drumshanbo Gin-producer The Shed Distillery alongside his wife, Denise, said many of the country's distilleries were going through a tough time with most distilleries temporarily halting production. Pauses were happening across the industry, he added, hitting large and small distilleries alike. 'I think since January 20, the world has changed with the new US administration,' he said. 'That was then but now we are in a different world, a very uncertain world. 'I'm not sure if you are aware, but the vast majority of distilling in Ireland has paused at the moment due to the challenges.' Rigney, who chairs the industry group Drinks Ireland, added that The Shed had not stopped production. On the pauses, Rigney noted there would be downstream effects for others, highlighting that Irish grain growers, pallet manufacturers, and trucking firms could take a hit. While Rigney said he can't answer on behalf of the distilleries pausing production, he believes uncertainty caused by US tariffs brought these actions forward. He also noted 'heightened levels of competition' from other categories, like tequila and cognac, playing a role. Irish alcohol producers are currently subject to a 10pc levy on sales in the US, its largest export market. However, this is due to increase to 20pc should EU and US negotiators fail to strike a trade deal. Last week the European Commission re-tabled proposals to hit US bourbon whiskey sold to EU states with tariffs. Such a move could spark a furious response from Trump leading to greater levies for Irish alcohol firms selling to America. Woes in the whiskey sector have even led to insolvencies. Rigney called for the Government not to take the industry for granted. Several prominent Irish distilleries have reportedly paused or cut back production in recent months. ADVERTISEMENT Learn more In March, Jameson-producer Irish Distillers said it was pausing production at Midleton Distillery in Co Cork from April until summer. The country's largest whiskey business said it was 'adjusting its production schedule for a routine, periodic review'. Bushmills had also reduced production saying it was aligning its 'whiskey stocks with anticipated demand trends.' Last November, Waterford Whiskey entered receivership after failing to raise fresh funding. The receivership was extended in March due to it being a 'challenging' time to find a buyer. In February, Blackwater Distillery entered the Small Company Administrative Rescue Process (Scarp), a rescue mechanism for smaller Irish businesses. A rescue plan was approved last month following a meeting of the company's creditors. The Shed boss Rigney was speaking after the business behind his distillery, PJ Rigney Distillery & International Brands, released results for the year ended September 30, 2024. Profit fell to €2.43m, down almost €870,300. Rigney said this was due to increased investment and heightened costs, which had not been passed on to consumers. The business had sales of over €17.27m and depletions – a measure of the number of cases sold to retailers by a distributor – had increased, he added.
