Rents surged 4.4 per cent between December and March when the Government’s new rent control system came into effect, which was the largest quarterly increase on record, a new report from property group Daft.ie shows. As Colin Gleeson reports, that the biggest shake-up of rent regulations in a decade came into force at the start of March when landlords were permitted to reset rents to market rates in between tenancies.Aer Lingus could cut flights next winter and summer as it bids to save cash to boost returns to its owner International Airlines Group, the company’s management has told pilots. The Irish carrier is reviewing its costs after reporting that losses almost doubled to €103 million in the first three months of this year. Barry O’Halloran has the story.Medtronic, the medical device giant, is setting up a new software team in Ireland focusing on its implantable cardiac devices, its first in Europe. The group’s patient care systems (PCS) team will initially employ 85 people at its Parkmore cardiac centre of excellence site in Galway, the company announced on Wednesday, with that number expected to grow over the next three years. Dominic Coyle has the details. Simon Harris has carved out a successful political career by understanding what the people want. But as John McManus writes in his column, that talent can lead to some very wrong decisions when it comes to the public finances. What is the real cost of raising teenagers? In Money Matters, Joanne Hunt tots up how much parents can end up spending.Unsuccessful appeals by taxpayers against Revenue assessments delivered €605 million in tax to the exchequer last year, according to the Tax Appeals Commission’s annual report. Corporation tax continues to account for the lion’s share of disputed tax, accounting for €423 million of the money paid over to Revenue – 70 per cent of the tax yield from all appeals finalised – despite accounting for just 5 per cent of cases. Dominic Coyle reports. The number of jobs in the Irish economy increased by 355,332 to about 2.8 million between the start of 2019 and the end of 2024, with migrant workers accounting for 218,261, or 61 per cent, of the growth, according to research from the Central Statistics Office (CSO). Emmet Malone has the details. In Commercial Property, Ronald Quinlan reports that a Longford shopping centre, developed at an estimated cost of €25 million in 2009, is now on the market for €3 million. He also has details of Newcastle Aerodrome in Co Wicklow which is on the block for €16.2 million. If you’d like to read more about the issues that affect your finances try signing up to On the Money, the weekly newsletter from our personal finance team, which will be issued every Friday to Irish Times subscribers.