BORD GAIS NOW HAS €1 BILLION FOR FUTURE PROJECTS - Bord Gáis says it has raised €550m through the issue of a bond to European investors. It says the money will be used to invest in the development of its infrastructure and to re-finance other debt obligations. Earlier this year, Bord Gáis raised $450m through a bond placing in the US market, meaning it now has €1 billion in the piggybank.
Bord Gáis CEO John Mullins says the money will be spent on investment in both the electricity and gas markets and also has to develop the transmission and distribution network in its pipeline with about €200m earmarked for that project. The company is also in the middle of building the Whitegate power plant at a cost of €400m while other plants will cost it about €200m. He says the firm also plans to spend about €400m on renewable projects over the next two years. He says during the European roadshows, Ireland did come up in conversations in the context of where we are in relation to other European economies. However, at the same time the bond issue was over-subscribed by a factor of two and a half times which Mr Mullins says is a vote of confidence in both Ireland and Bord Gáis.
Mr Mullins says that over 150,000 customers has make the 'big switch' from the ESB to Bord Gáis for its electricity supplies and he adds that he is delighted with the response from the public to the initiative.
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IBEC WANTS OVERHAUL OF OUT OF DATE JOINT LABOUR COMMITTEE SYSTEM - The employers lobby IBEC is hosting a big conference on employment law today. IBEC is using the occasion to put the boot in to what is says is the out of date way pay is determined for 170,000 employees.
IBEC's director of industrial relations Brendan McGinty says that the Joint Labour Committee system applies to about 14 different diverse sectors, including hairdressers to catering and security sectors. The system sets a higher level of minimum wage and terms and conditions that are legally enforceable and some of the rates are significantly higher than the national minimum wage. Mr McGinty points out that the current minimum wage is currently the second highest in the European Union. He says the difficulty IBEC is highlighting today is that the system, which has been in place since 1946, is really out of date and totally inappropriate for the scale of the economic downturn. He says it is in need of a radical overhaul.
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MORNING BRIEFS - Former Bank of Ireland chief executive Pat Molloy - in his 70s - will be appointed as the bank's new chairman to replace Richard Burrows when he steps down next month. Mr Molloy will be one of four government appointments to the board of the bank. Two are already in place as part of the deal which saw 25% of the bank put into to State hands in return for €3.5 billion in fresh capital. Pat Molloy ran the bank from 1991 until 1998 and has since been a chairman of Enterprise Ireland and the construction materials company, CRH. Pat Molloy, when he took over as CEO, inherited a big problem as a result of Bank of Ireland's investment in a regional bank in the US called First New Hampshire which was running into difficulties. Molloy is credited with turning the situation around.
*** Setanta last night said it was looking at what it termed 'live options'. The move should help the company stave off going into administration, but there is no indication who might be prepared to invest in the struggling sports broadcaster. The statement follows a board meeting which was adjourned last night. A spokesman for Setanta said a further announcement would be made in due course. Yesterday the company appeared to stop taking new subscriptions on its website and telephone service
*** On the currency markets, the euro is worth $1.4119 and 86.17 pence sterling.
