More than two years after the Department of Housing introduced guidelines to support new forms of compact residential developments in Ireland, home builders and planners are still waiting for a playbook for applying the new measures.<\/p>\n
The guidelines were put in place to help developers deliver own-door homes on sites where apartments are deemed unviable. The Department said a design manual detailing best practice<\/a>, promised for early 2024, was still incomplete.<\/p>\n Many workers in Ireland are concerned their pensions will not be big enough for a comfortable retirement, according to a new report from AIB. <\/p>\n Dominic Coyle reports<\/a> that despite the clear anxiety demonstrated among workers, more than six in 10 have never reviewed their pension arrangements with an adviser.<\/p>\n AI is reshaping many industries and work practices, and it appears even the car dealerships, where the human touch is deemed so crucial to a sale, are not immune.<\/p>\n Several Irish firms have built AI agents for showrooms that help them follow up on enquiries, book appointments, assess trade-ins and create social media content, which has freed up staff to spend more time with customers, writes Emmet Ryan<\/a>.<\/p>\n In his latest weekly economics column, Prof John FitzGerald discusses<\/a> the reliance of Ireland\u2019s economy on migrant workers from outside the EU to address skills shortages.<\/p>\n He argues that cutting work permits, especially for those providing care to the country\u2019s ageing population, would lead to a big headache for the State as the sector struggle without immigrant nurses from countries such as the Philippines.<\/p>\n In her weekly column, Pilita Clark considers<\/a> a question that may unsettle people managers. As AI agents take on more workplace tasks, managers could end up overseeing fewer people and more bots.<\/p>\n Considering managerial salaries have long been tied to the size of their workforce, she asks whether managers should be paid less if they were responsible for a group of AI agents rather than human staff. <\/p>\n In Monday\u2019s edition, we also have a piece from Frank Rubotham, head of specialists and propositions at Logicalis UK and Ireland, who is writing about ComReg\u2019s proposed licensing framework for private 5G networks<\/a>.<\/p>\n He writes it could help Irish businesses modernise and attract investment in sectors such as pharma, advanced manufacturing and logistics.<\/p>\n