Business Today: China and the Irish economy, Brennans Bread founder dies, and how to tell if green claims in ads are true or fake

Consumers struggle to distinguish between genuine environmental claims made in advertisements and “greenwashed” ones that give a misleading impression of the climate-friendly credentials of a product or business, according a new study by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and Trinity College Dublin. Laura Slattery reports.

Joseph Brennan, the founder of the Irish family-run Brennans Bread, has died aged 82 in Dublin. Colin Gleeson has the details on his career as one of the country’s leading bread-makers.

In our Agenda feature, Colm Keena examines the increasingly strained trade relationship between China and the West and what this means for Ireland, where a number of large Chinese companies have established regional hubs to sell their goods and services.

For our Interview of the Week, Eoin Burke-Kennedy sits down with the new Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke to discuss his plans for what will be a relatively short time in office, given there is an election on the horizon. The Minister was keen to promote the package of supports that his department developed recently to support Irish SMEs who are struggling amid the cost-of-living crisis, and to explain that “what’s good for the worker doesn’t have to be bad for the employer” when it comes to labour policies.

The Irish economy is expected to return to expansion mode this year, albeit at a more moderate pace than recent years, underpinned by the strong performance of the domestic economy and employment growth, AIB has said. Ian Curran has the details.

Irish taxes are low despite what most people think, writes our columnist John FitzGerald.

On a related topic, Cliff Taylor notes how Ireland’s high earners have doubled in number since pre-pandemic and how they are now a vital part of the State’s annual tax receipts. 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.

VEI Global, a Naas, Co Kildare-based information and computer services company, is investing €2 million in the creation of 20 new engineering jobs over the next 18 months amid “strong customer growth in the US and Europe”. Ian Curran has the details.

A sharp rise in costs dented profits at national electricity grid operator EirGrid in the 12 months to the end of September. Barry O’Halloran reports on the State-owned company’s figures.

And in case you missed it yesterday, Barry reported on Ryanair’s claim that Christmas air fares to Dublin could hit €500 this winter due to the passenger cap at Dublin Airport.

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