Elsewhere, Muno members were busy this week as we learned that an estimated 40 tonnes of large-scale litter was left behind by the St Patrick’s Day festival. Dublin City Council said it deployed more than 450 staff to tackle it.

Meanwhile, ISME has told an Oireachtas committee that Government support for workforce training represents “a very poor return” for employers who fund it, while the European Commission has proposed changes, drafted by EU commissioner for justice Michael McGrath,  that would “harmonise” some national rules around tax and insolvency as part "of a much-hyped plan to allow businesses to quickly incorporate a new company on an European Union-wide basis."

The Republic has among the highest productivity rates in a global ranking of economies. However, this is largely driven by sectors of the Irish economy that are “dominated by foreign-owned multinational corporations,” and dependence on a handful of multinational companies to drive technological progress and productivity has left the Irish economy exposed, at a time when the global landscape for flows of foreign direct investment faces multiple disruptions. That's the conclusion of a new report written by former Government adviser Alan Ahearne, and commissioned by Stripe founders John and Patrick Collison. 

Speaking of investment, a UK pension fund has just taken a chunk of the Poolbeg incinerator.

Your Zen this morning sees Sean Penn receive an alternative Oscar, as he skipped the party on Sunday and, instead, the Ukrainian Railways CEO presented Penn with a custom Oscar statuette made of salvaged metal from a railcar destroyed by Russia. The actor won his third Oscar last weekend for his brilliant performance in One Battle After Another, which comes highly recommended.

Have a lovely day.

NS