Today's is a comprehensive read to start the workday

Good morning. Regulation, pay, property and corporate numbers are doing most of the talking today, with fresh detail on where costs, valuations and business risk are actually landing. And Pope Leo gets involved towards the end. Let’s get into it.

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1. Google Gets A €403m Irish Data Fine. The Data Protection Commission fined Google €403m over how it processed users’ location data, including lawfulness, transparency and retention failures, and ordered compliance within six months. Three other large-scale DPC inquiries into Google are at an advanced stage. Ireland’s role in European tech regulation shows how substantial it is when enforcement comes with a nine-figure bill.

2. Daft And DoneDeal’s Numbers Come Into View. Distilled, the group behind Daft.ie, DoneDeal.ie and Adverts.ie, was taken into a new ownership structure in 2024 when Blacksheep Fund Management led a buyout that included Adevinta’s 50% stake. New filings value that acquisition at €627.4m, while founders Brian and Eamonn Fallon disposed of their 38% holding for €238.9m, partly in cash and partly in shares, and now retain 33.32% of the voting shares. The new group recorded €64.4m turnover and a €75.7m comprehensive loss, driven mainly by non-cash amortisation and share-based compensation.

3. Minimum-Wage Claims Meet The Evidence. ESRI research found seven of eight minimum-wage increases studied since 2016 had no significant effect on prices. The unusually large 12.4% rise in 2024 did lift prices in selected categories by around 2.5%. Separate research found many low-paid workers actually earn above the hourly minimum but work too few hours, resulting in 20% earning below the living wage. So, pay policy is dealing with both the price of an hour and the supply of them.

4. Tenant Risk Hits Dublin Office Values. Axa and Kennedy Wilson’s Dublin office portfolio fell €15m in value last year to €299.6m. State Street’s planned 2028 departure contributed to a decline at 78 Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, while a Capital Dock rent review delivered no uplift. Dublin office vacancy has improved from its peak, but landlords are now seeing tenant decisions and flat rents feed directly into valuations.

5. Aircraft Lessors Want The Tax Code Reopened. Aircraft Leasing Ireland is pushing for tax changes ahead of Budget 2027 as competition from rival aviation hubs increases. Its members manage €274bn of aircraft, representing a claimed 69% of global leased-aircraft value, and want easier intra-group financing and asset transfers. For an industry Ireland already dominates, the Budget ask is all about defending a very strong sector in Ireland rather than seeking to establish a new one.

Diesel markets are still flashing red, with European inventories 16% below their five-year average and industry participants expecting global tightness to run into 2027. European carmakers remain under pressure as Volkswagen has dropped out of the Stoxx 50 after cutting its 2026 margin guidance, while Porsche denied reports of another 4,000 job cuts. The ECB launched Pontes, allowing tokenised securities to settle in euro central-bank money. Meanwhile, Novo Nordisk has cut 13,000 jobs over the past year as GLP-1 competition intensifies, while smart-ring maker Oura is targeting up to $2.2bn from a US IPO. The global picture is a mix of tighter supply, harder restructuring and investors still willing to fund the right growth story.

Legal & Regulatory

The legal aid dispute deepens into genuinely new territory this week, and one of Ireland's most consequential GDPR enforcement decisions in years landed alongside it.

Solicitors' firm Ferrys LLP wrote to the Chief Justice and the presidents of the High, Circuit and District Courts warning their withdrawal of District Court legal aid work will run past the new legal year's October 5th opening, exempting only custody and priority cases. They say Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan has failed to engage meaningfully and will not do so before the High Court rules, expected in October, on a judicial review of the new €520 flat fee. Courts Service figures show just 700 legal aid certificates issued in July, against over 10,000 a year earlier, the clearest evidence yet of how far the scheme has collapsed.

The Data Protection Commission fined Google Ireland €403m, its final decision after a six-and-a-half-year GDPR inquiry into how the company processed location data between 2018 and 2020, with six months given to fix its practices. In Luxembourg, a minority creditor group won a court order temporarily blocking Ardagh Group's sale of its metal-packaging arm, a move Ardagh calls without merit and is challenging. And US airlines lobby group Airlines for America asked Washington to extend its deadline for deciding on retaliation over Dublin Airport's passenger cap while a CJEU ruling and Irish cap-lifting legislation work through.

Watch whether October's High Court judicial review ruling finally forces both sides of the legal aid dispute back to the table.

In Wednesday’s Tá, the Sector Spotlight will be Finance & Markets.

Tuesday – On the Move…

Tom Geraghty, Marsh Europe: The Galway native has been appointed chief executive of Marsh Europe, effective November 1st, succeeding Christos Adamantiadis, who moves to lead placement and market solutions globally. Geraghty has spent almost 30 years at Marsh and continues as president of its European people and investments business, a role he has held since 2019.

Ann Fogarty, State Street: Promoted to enterprise chief operating officer, taking charge of technology, AI and firm-wide transformation. The Irish executive has been with State Street since 2021 as head of global delivery, having previously led accounting services at BNY Mellon after starting her career at AIB/BNY.

Simon Sloan, Central Bank of Ireland: Appointed director of strategy and governance, replacing Glenn Calverley, who moves to director of finance and business performance. Sloan joined the Central Bank in 2011 and most recently served as counsellor to the governor and chief of staff.

Mark Bambury, OpenAI: The Cork native has been appointed to lead OpenAI's advertising business across EMEA, following the rollout of ChatGPT ads across 31 European markets including Ireland. He joins from Roblox, where he helped build its brand-partnerships business, having previously worked at Google and Twitter.

Pope Leo has stepped into AI safety, urging developers to build systems that strengthen peace rather than division, while Chinese regulators are already asking whether the humanoid-robot boom has enough real customers behind it. Back in Ireland, more than 30% of full-time workers earn below the Real Living Wage. So, before the machines take over civilisation, perhaps someone could ask them to have a look at payroll. The Pope is supervising.

The Read – Business Post – Revolut boss sets out lending strategy ahead of IPO

Revolut CEO, Nik Storonsky, says Revolut will keep its loan-to-deposit ratio below 20 per cent, far under the 80 to 90 per cent typical of banks, selling or securitising loans to hold credit risk near zero as it explores a dual New York and London listing. The interview also covers recent UK, French and US banking approvals and past anti-money-laundering fines. Ireland features as one of Revolut's strongest markets, with 3.4 million customers and a credit book that has just passed €1bn. Link: Revolut boss sets out lending strategy ahead of IPO

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