The Government has become involved in the Central Bank bonus controversy by insisting that the bank "must continue to operate," under the rules of the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act (FEMPI) which was brought in during the downturn to cut public sector pay and to ban bonus payments.
The bank has said that these additional payments, averaging over €17,000, were "retention payments" - not bonuses.
It has been confirmed that the Central Bank has had "informal discussions" with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform - but it denied that it has asked to be exempt from the rules on any occasion.
Unite - the union which represents a large group of the bank's employees - says that it was unaware that these payments were taking place.
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Eir, Ireland's largest telecoms group is reported to be in talks to acquire Setanta Sports - the Dublin-based television broadcaster.
It is reported in The Irish Times that talks are at an advanced stage and that a deal is likely to be completed in 2016.
If the deal is successful, it should strengthen Eir's digital portfolio if the company attempts to list on the stock exchange.
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Pfizer and Allergan have continued discussions as they plan to merger to create the world's biggest pharmaceutical company - sources close to the potential deal say that it could happen as soon as Monday.
If they join together, Pfizer is expected to take advantage of Allergan being based in Ireland to move its tax affairs to the country, taking advantage of our low tax rates.
This has been a controversial proposition, and has become a live issue on the 2016 presidential election campaign trail in the United States.
The US Treasury Department has issued a letter on these tax inversion deals - it says that it is reviewing means of stopping them taking place - it plans to release a guidance on the matter on Wednesday of next week.
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One of the most keenly watched tech IPOs of 2015 took place yesterday evening as Square - a electronic payment company which it led by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey - floated on the New York Stock Exchange.
Shares rose to $14.78 at one point before settling at $13 - this was at the higher-end of the company's expectations.
It represents a 45% bump on the company's IPO price.
Square has been seen as a litmus test for the current wave of tech 'unicorns.' In private markets the company has been valued at $6bn - the IPO terms implied a valuation which was half of that.
