View this email in your browser Business Today Wednesday, 14 October, 2026 Editor's Note Good morning, reader With more than 300,000 public sector workers participating in a one-day work stoppage today, John McManus wonders why all the theatrics? Everybody knows that the Government will eventually agree to a pay increase in line with inflation and get some concessions to offset the bill. However, both sides have their reasons, he writes. Meanwhile, some positive news for the around 65 per cent of Irish adults who say they have at least one piece of Ikea furniture in their home. The Swedish furniture giant is unveiling a new second-hand marketplace that will allow customers to sell and buy preloved Ikea items locally. Joanne Hunt answers the key questions – how will it work, can you make money off of it, and is it actually good for the environment? A slowdown in the rate of Irish house price inflation is being linked to a shrinkage in real wages as the cost of living and interest rates continue to rise. Eoin Burke-Kennedy reports on the latest official figures from the Central Statistics Office, which reveal a marked slowdown in the rate of annual house price growth in August. Continue Reading Ian Curran   TOP BUSINESS STORIES Work I reluctantly signed a severance agreement after being given 24 hours to. What recourse have I? Business LNG critical to energy security, conference told Business Workers have no ‘collective responsibility’ for business losses, WRC tells catering firm Business European shares hand back gains as tech valuations return to haunt Business McDonald’s uses Ireland to test hand-breaded chicken in Europe John McManus Why we must have this performative strike by public sector workers MORE BUSINESS STORIES Business Kilkenny Design group records €1.5m in pretax profits Business Mark Zuckerberg says Meta has reached AI ‘frontier’ Business Revenues decline 2.5% at The Irish Times media group Business Will Dublin-headquartered Accenture survive or thrive in the age of AI? Do you have questions about becoming an Irish Times subscriber, or about your subscription? You'll find handy guides in our FAQs, and you can manage many aspects of your subscription in the My Account section. Never miss a business story Subscribe now for just €1 for your first month SUBSCRIBE