Some of the country’s biggest carbon polluters arestill failing to rein in their greenhouse gas output as Ireland prepares to back plans to hike the cost of excess emissions.

Bank of Scotland has been frustrating the efforts of a liquidator to uncover a €4m fraud perpetrated against the bank by the Whelan Group, it has been alleged.

Concrete manufacturer and supplier Readymix plc is to become a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of Cemex Espana SC, a company within the Spanish-established Cemex Group, under a scheme of arrangement approved by the Commercial Court.

Building materials group CRH has said that trading operations in Europe in the first four months of the year has been affected by severe weather conditions in February and by the ongoing impact on sentiment of volatility in Eurozone financial markets.

The 135 staff of Musgrave’s Cork chill warehouse will withdraw their services tomorrow.

Production was hit yesterday at two Irish Cement plants as a results of official union-backed pickets at Castlemungret in Co Limerick and Platin in Co Meath.

Up to 100 workers at Irish Cement Ltd have gone on strike.

THE High Court has made an order winding up five companies in the Whelan group, one of the largest concrete suppliers in the country, after the directors of the companies yesterday withdrew their petition for examinership. The directors said they “profoundly regretted” that some 120 jobs will be lost.

THE National Assets Management Agency is opposing the appointment of an examiner to five companies in the Whelan Group, one of the largest concrete products suppliers in the country employing 120 people. The High Court will hear the petition for examinership on Friday.

A HUGE dust emission from a Limerick factory damaged hundreds of cars in a number of city suburbs on Thursday night.