Ferry and freight services group Irish Continental has said it is cautious about its growth prospects for this year, after seeing pre-tax profits fall by over 20% last year.

Irish Continental Group’s share price jumped by over 9% yesterday on the back of management proposing a return of up to €111.5m to shareholders via its latest share buyback move.

The head of Irish Ferries has said that initial sales indications for the summer months have been “reassuringly positive”, adding that the company could also survive a collapse of the euro currency.

IRISH Continental Group (ICG) is confident of reaching a deal regarding the future of its Pride of Bilbao ferry in the autumn.

AN INVESTIGATION has been launched into complaints that workers on board Irish Ferries’ newest ship are being paid less than half the minimum wage.

IRISH FERRIES formally named its new €50 million ferry, Oscar Wilde, in Dublin Port yesterday as the company again faced criticism about pay and conditions for staff working on its vessels.

AT A time when many airlines are withdrawing from such schemes, Irish Ferries says it has renewed its commitment to its frequent traveller programme.

The Irish Takeover Panel has reportedly issued a two-week deadline for a formal bid for Irish Ferries’ parent company, Irish Continental Group (ICG) to be made by the interested Doyle Shipping Group/One 51 consortium.

RESOLUTION of the deeply divisive dispute at Irish Ferries does not mean an end to the carrier’s woes, according to stock market analysts.

IRISH FERRIES’ row over the replacement of its Irish workers could cost up to €11 million in lost profits in the current year, its parent warned yesterday.

UP to 150,000 people took to the streets yesterday as the Irish Ferries protest mushroomed into the largest public demonstration the country has seen for two decades.

Michael O’Leary is focused on Ryanair growth and tackling the Government, writes Ian Guider.

SIPTU will not prevent the docking of privately chartered freight ships in Cork and Rosslare this weekend as desperate exporters seek to circumvent the dispute at Irish Ferries.

Marine Minister Pat 'the Cope' Gallagher has insisted the Government is powerless to stop Irish Ferries re-registering its vessels abroad.

MARINE engineer John Curry says the thought of leaving the engine room of Irish Ferries’ ship Inishmore frightens him.

THE best, and most practical, piece of advice the management of Irish Ferries received over the weekend came from David Begg, general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.

Three vessels remain tied up as crew represented by SIPTU refuse to sail because of Irish Ferries’ attempts to proceed with outsourcing jobs to agency workers.

The ISEQ index closed up 5.1 points at 6888.95 today as good performances from the financials were offset by a slump at Eircom.

EXPORTERS believe businesses will be hit hard if Irish Ferries’ services to Britain are disrupted by strikes.

Exporters warned today businesses would be hit hard if Irish Ferries’ services to the United Kingdom were disrupted by strike.

THE row over Irish Ferries’ controversial plan to lay off 543 staff and replace them with cheaper foreign workers will move to the Labour Court today with the company and trade union SIPTU both scheduled to attend.

THERE is a whiff of double-standards emerging in the case of the 550 workers in Irish Ferries whose jobs are to be axed.

TAXPAYERS’ money must not be used to facilitate Irish Ferries’ policy of replacing Irish staff with low-paid alternatives, SIPTU president Jack O’Connor demanded last night.

THE voluntary redundancy package offered to Irish Ferries’ workers could cost the company €20 million.

IRISH Ferries is seeking 543 voluntary redundancies from its workforce or it will cease passenger ferry services across the Irish Sea.

IT was February 8. Reading back over it, you would swear it was way back in the distant past, something about Russian serfs towards the end of the 19th century.

SIPTU and Irish Ferries are expected to engage in conciliation talks in Dublin today after an ongoing dispute left 800 passengers stranded at sea for up to eight hours yesterday.

Irish Ferries have reached an agreement with SIPTU and beautician Salvacion Y Ortenero Orge to resolve the case.

Union bosses today accused Irish Ferries of paying a foreign worker slave wages.

Ships officers at Irish Ferries have reportedly begun a ballot for strike action as part of a long-running row over the ‘outsourcing’ of jobs on the company’s Rosslare-Cherbourg service.

A DECISION by Irish Ferries to replace the Irish flag with a flag of convenience on one of its vessels was last night condemned by the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF).

The Government was today urged to intervene in the industrial dispute at Irish Ferries before more jobs are lost.

Irish Ferries is reportedly set to lay off a further 150 staff today due to ongoing strike action by SIPTU members at the company.