Budget 2026 is in the books, and while there were few changes to income tax, it had plenty in it, whether it was a minimum wage hike, changes that may shore up the Irish stock market, or a raft of moves to encourage housing construction. You can read all our coverage here, and review its main points here, while Cliff Taylor explains why it was the least populist budget in years.

A clampdown on the transport of extra-heavy loads on Irish roads is slowing new power plant development and threatening to boost electricity bills, energy industry figures warn. As Barry O’Halloran reports, the push to meet the Republic’s surging electricity demand and hit climate targets has increased the need to transport “abnormally” heavy equipment, some of it weighing up to 570 tonnes, on the State’s roads.

HarbourVest, a US investment firm that set up a base in Dublin ahead of Brexit, has scope to increase its staff in Ireland by 75 per cent to 72 after moving to new offices this year, senior executives have said. Joe Brennan has the details.