The worst fears of the business owners and the tens of thousands of people they employed in cafes and the pubs and restaurants and retailers were realised as the shutters came down 10 days ago.

It is startling the extent to which the coronavirus pandemic has changed the ground rules for business, writes Brian Keegan.

Irish economic growth will grind to a halt and unemployment will creep above 5% this year under Italy-style quarantines to control the Covid-19 outbreak here, the Economic and Social Research Institute has projected in new forecasts.

Nature abhors a vacuum.

Growing up in Ballyclough, Co Cork, you couldn’t get Laura Fitzgerald off the farm.

Knowing how to measure sustainability will make a real impact in addressing environmental concerns.

Last December’s UK general election was really only about one thing: Brexit.

The month of January isn’t particularly noted as a time for good news.

Here is a selection of people who are starting interesting new roles with public and private organisations in Ireland.

It isn’t just the end of the year, it’s the end of a decade.

Chartered Accountants said that Mr FitzPatrick had accepted the findings following an investigation

On or around December 9 almost all employees can expect to receive a letter from Revenue.

The new rules for disclosing ownership offshore trusts, shell companies, nominees, and numbered bank accounts show that the authorities are getting serious. Discretion is no longer assured in financial dealings.

Here is a selection of people who have just moved into interesting new roles with companies in Ireland.

Food supplements — with a range of exceptions — will, after all, be taxed at the rate of 13.5% for Vat, the Department of Finance has said, a move that has surprised industry groups that had long campaigned against removing their zero-rated tax benefits.

Rarely have expectations been so dampened down in advance of a budget statement.

This week the British Home Office announced it is to issue one million texts to UK passport holders.

It's safe to say €137.5bn is a very large sum of money. It’s an amount you’d think it would be difficult to mislay.

Young people are snapping up apprenticeships, availing of the chance to “earn and learn” across a range of skills areas not usually associated with the in-house training model.

Last week, across the water, Boris Johnson was elected leader of the Tory party and hence Prime Minister on a Brexit ticket.

Confirmation that Boris Johnson was heading to Downing Street was greeted by a fall in sterling — and a new round of warnings for Irish business to buckle up for a rough ride.

It may be easier to say what a developed country is rather than what a developing country is.

Recently the US economist Arthur Laffer was awarded the US Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Trump.

While tax is ultimately all about paying money, a critical element of tax collection is the communication between the taxpayer and the Revenue Commissioners to ensure the right amount is paid at the right time.

The Government appears to be drawing closer to formally conceding the tech giants, including Google, Twitter, and Facebook, which have significant bases in Ireland will be taxed by individual governments on the revenues they generate across Europe.

Conor Kane has been appointed as South East correspondent with RTÉ News.

There is an African proverb that says that when elephants fight, the grass is hit the hardest.

In the past few weeks we have seen both the threat, and then the deferral, of two taxes. Though very different in appearance, were either primarily designed to raise money?

This paper has reported that Cork City Council has been audited by the Revenue Commissioners and made a settlement of well in excess of €1m for underpaid taxes.

Twenty jobs will be created via a national accountancy apprenticeship programme in Cork in which applicants will earn while they learn.