Dividends at Cartamundi, outdated copyright laws and tech job cuts

• Author: Conn Ó Midheach
• Published date: 23 March 2023
• Publication title: Irish Times: Web Edition Articles (Dublin, Ireland)

The Belgian owners of game-maker Cartamundi received almost €31 million in dividends from Ireland in the years before closing its Waterford factory with the loss of 234 jobs, corporate records reveal. Generations of children and adults have played board games such as Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit, Connect 4 and Cluedo in the decades since the former MB Games set up in Waterford in 1977. Arthur Beesley and Ian Curran report

In her weekly column Karlin Lillington argues that mainstream corporate conglomerates across film, music, publishing and art which benefit from outdated copyright laws and push for "fair use" restrictions are not going to be the ones supporting digital public access, for "the public want and the public good".

An intelligent and strategic action to "join up thinking" of industrial policy across the public sector would clearly be opportune, to both develop new technologies and more importantly to prove their benefits in the market, writes columnist Chris Horn.

Irish-founded platform Yonder has signed a deal with Irish Life to help companies and their Irish-based employees to easily access health insurance and retirement benefits, writes Ciara O'Brien. The company, which is aiming to simplify health and pension benefits for global businesses and employees through the use of a 100 per cent digital platform and app, will offer Irish Life products exclusively to its clients, giving the insurance company a way to access small and growing companies.

If you have ever been involved in a car crash, you may already appreciate the value of a dashcam. The small device that sits in the windscreen and records everything in front of it could be the difference between an insurance hike and an insurance claim, should the worst happen. Ciara O'Brien reviews the Miofive Dash Cam Dual.

Emissions from agriculture come from two primary sources: livestock, and stored manure and slurry. Both are major contributors to global greenhouse gases. Reducing the livestock population is one way of curbing the problem, but this is not a realistic option given the potential commercial impact and the ongoing need to increase global food production. What is needed is a breakthrough product that works within existing...