EU green light sought on offshore windfarm subsidy

The government will ask the European Union to approve before the end of the year a feed-in tariff subsidising offshore wind farms, according to a spokesman for the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.

The country is seeking EU approval to pay €140 per megawatt hour for electricity produced by sea-based wind farms, the spokesman said. The government outlined plans for the subsidy in February 2008. It would be paid for by electricity customers through their bills.

Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Eamon Ryan published the country's draft plan for offshore wind, wave and tidal energy for public consultation earlier in November, inviting responses during the next two months. Among its findings were that Ireland could produce up to 10 times its existing electricity demand from marine-based renewable energy without significant environmental impact.

There are five offshore wind projects under development off the Irish coast totalling 2.4 gigawatts of power, according to the document. To date, 25 megawatts of this has been built.

Bloomberg

Qumas made €1.1m profit last year

Qumas, the Cork-based technology company, moved into profit last year, according to newly filed accounts.

The company, which develops regulatory compliance software, made a profit of $1.6m (€1.1m) compared with a loss of $659,000 a year earlier it said. Sales for the year dropped to $15.5m from $15.9m but cost-cutting helped the company move into the black.

The company has grown its sales by 50% since 2007 and recently announced a partnership with Microsoft for enterprise level software.

Qumas, which employs 68 people, trimmed its total staff costs to $8.7m from $9.9m. The company's directors were paid total remuneration of $883,000, an increase of $45,000 from a year earlier.

Securities backed by Irish home loans slid in September

The performance of securities backed by Irish home loans continued to deteriorate during September 2010, according to the latest index published by Moody's. The proportion of loans more than 90 days overdue increased to 5.14% from 4.83% in August. Loans delinquent for more than 360 days, considered defaults, accounted for 1.38% of the outstanding portfolios in September, up from 1.28% a month earlier.

Retail group pleads with consumers not to shop in North

Retail Excellence Ireland is urging consumers to refrain from cross-border shopping in the run-up to Christmas after losing €700m in business to Northern Ireland last year.

The group, which represents retail businesses in the Republic, is hoping a slight year-on-year drop in cross-border shopping recorded in the second quarter is a sign that shoppers are turning away from the North.