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European Search Perspective, a Franco-German joint venture for sovereign search infrastructures, has sent open letters to heads of government across the European Union proposing to establish national search indices to strengthen Europe's digital sovereignty and reduce dependence on foreign technology providers.

The proposal comes 100 days after the Digital Sovereignty Summit in Berlin, where European leaders committed to reducing critical digital dependencies and building sovereign infrastructure where necessary and achievable.

Search engines play a central role in both democratic societies and digital economies. They determine how citizens access information, how businesses are discovered online and how artificial intelligence systems retrieve knowledge from the search.

Today, 99.5 percent of European search queries are based on answers by just two US companies (96 percent), and one Russian company (3.5 percent).

According to European Search Perspective, this concentration exposes European countries to systemic risks. If access to dominant search indexing infrastructure were restricted – whether due to sanctions regimes, regulatory conflict, export controls or commercial decisions – governments could lose critical analytical capabilities and economies could face complete collapse within days.

The majority of Europe's GDP (approximately 18 trillion) is directly dependent on the search index based economy.

European Search Perspective proposes that EU member states establish sovereign search infrastructure consisting of a national search index hosted under European jurisdiction, a national ranking algorithm, and infrastructure supporting both public search services and AI search grounding.

"Without a sovereign search index, Europe does not control the gateway to its own digital economy," says Wolfgang Oels, Director Europan Search Perspective.

The organisation argues that search infrastructure should be treated as strategic public infrastructure, comparable in importance to energy grids or telecommunications networks.

European Search Perspective is currently establishing a sovereign search index for France and Germany and has offered to extend the initiative to other EU member states.

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The sharp decline in used electric vehicle prices appears to have stabilised, with the latest DoneDeal Cars Price Index showing the EV market entering a more settled phase after several years of volatility. After falling significantly during 2023 and 2024, used EV prices were broadly flat year-on-year by the end of 2025, suggesting the major price correction has now run its course. At the same time, electric cars have become cheaper than comparable diesel vehicles on Ireland's used market for the first time.

According to the analysis, across all cars in the dataset, a typical three-year-old electric car now has a median asking price of €28,825, compared with €35,893 for a diesel vehicle of the same age. When factors such as age, mileage and model are taken into account, used electric cars are now priced around 11% below comparable diesel vehicles, marking a dramatic shift from 2022 when EVs carried a clear price premium.

Petrol cars remain the cheapest option upfront, with a typical three-year-old model priced at around €22,900, but the gap between petrol and electric vehicles has narrowed significantly in recent years.

The data suggests the used EV market has now entered a more stable phase following a turbulent period triggered by falling new-car prices, reduced purchase grants and increased supply of electric vehicles entering the second-hand market.

Paddy Comyn, Head of Automotive Content and Communications at DoneDeal, said:

"We've come through a full cycle in the EV market. Prices surged during the supply shortages of the pandemic years, then corrected sharply as supply improved and manufacturers cut new-car prices. What we're seeing now is the market settling into a more normal pattern.

The big shift is that electric cars are no longer carrying a premium over diesel. In many cases, they're thousands cheaper, which is a significant turning point for buyers considering making the switch." The report also highlights ongoing pressures in the lower end of the used car market. Vehicles priced below €6,000 rose by 7.6% year-on-year, reflecting continued shortages of cheaper cars.

Separately, the report shows how Brexit has reshaped Ireland's used car supply chain. Imports from the UK have fallen sharply since 2019, while Japan now accounts for roughly half of all used car imports into Ireland, many of them European brands originally sold in the Japanese market before being re-exported.

Dr Tom Gillespie, economist and analyst of the DoneDeal Cars Price Index, said:

"The data suggests the market has found a more sustainable level. EV prices are stabilising, supply is improving, and price movements are becoming more predictable again after several volatile years."

More about Irish Tech News

Irish Tech News are Ireland's No. 1 Online Tech Publication and often Ireland's No.1 Tech Podcast too.

You can find hundreds of fantastic previous episodes and subscribe using whatever platform you like via our Anchor.fm page here: https://anchor.fm/irish-tech-news

If you'd like to be featured in an upcoming Podcast email us at [email protected] now to discuss.

Irish Tech News have a range of services available to help promote your business. Why not drop us a line at [email protected] now to find out more about how we can help you reach our audience.

You can also find and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.

A long and rainy winter has prompted many Irish families to book package holidays in the sun. Under new EU laws, these holidaymakers will be better protected going forward, according to lead negotiator on the new EU travel rules, Cynthia Ní Mhurchú.

The Transport and Tourism MEP has welcomed a raft of new protections for Irish holidaymakers that protect them when they book package holidays. She said the new rules will ensure greater transparency and fairness in the travel industry.

The revised Package Travel Directive is expected to be passed in a vote in the European Parliament on Thursday. The new EU travel rules give holidaymakers enhanced protection when things go wrong with their package holidays.

This includes situations where travel companies go bankrupt, something which impacted thousands of holidaymakers when Thomas Cook collapsed in 2019.

Cancelling your holiday

The new EU rules give passengers more rights when it comes to cancellations. Holidaymakers can cancel, penalty-free, when faced with unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances. This includes sudden natural disasters, conflict or public health emergencies. Tour operators are required to have insolvency protection so that in the unlikely event that they go broke, holidaymakers will be entitled to a refund within six months.

Those same insolvency protection schemes must be sufficient to guarantee not only consumer refunds but also the repatriation of holidaymakers if things go wrong on the package holiday. When a tour operator cancels someone's package holiday, they are now required to issue a refund within 14 days. The definition of what constitutes extraordinary circumstances for a cancellation will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

In practice, this means that if a holiday destination is hit by intense flooding or forest fires and official travel warnings are issued, consumers can cancel their package holiday without incurring costs and should receive a prompt refund. Ní Mhurchú pointed out that this is particularly important given the increasingly erratic weather patterns in parts of Europe, leading to flooding, fire and more extreme events.

Specific voucher protection

Amongst the measures in this revised Package Travel Directive is that holidaymakers who are offered vouchers by way of compensation by travel companies will now have the right to refuse a voucher and opt for a cash refund within 14 days. If a voucher is accepted but not used, its value must be reimbursed at expiry. Vouchers should be valid for up to 12 months, and transferable or extendable once. Importantly, vouchers must be backed by insolvency protection and usable across all services offered by the organiser, either in full or in instalments.

Making a complaint

Holiday makers can make complaints which must now be acknowledged within 7 days and replied to within 60 days.

The new EU laws require tour operators to provide clearer information on payment methods, passport/visa requirements, accessibility for people with reduced mobility, and termination fees if you cancel.

Where an "add-on" booking doesn't create a package, for example, when booking a hotel or a car rental through the Ryanair website after you have booked a flight, the onus is on the business, Ryanair in this example, to clearly explain in advance that the package travel protections do not apply. If the business does not make that distinction clearly enough in the booking process, and the extra service is bought in the same sales flow within the conditions set out in the directive, the arrangement may be treated as a package.

Ní Mhurchú said that MEPs strived to bolster protections for holidaymakers without adding any great additional bureaucracy on package tour operators. The new rules will apply to package tours or package holidays. Once voted on this Thursday, Member States have had 28 months to transpose it into national law, with the new rules applying 6 months after that deadline.

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One in three (34%) post-primary students now learn about money on social media, and one in seven (16%) don't feel comfortable asking for help with money-related questions or concerns, according to new research published by MABS (Money Advice & Budgeting Service). The findings will be presented today at a Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) event at Croke Park, to open Global Money Week.

The CCPC, as the national coordinator for Global Money Week, will bring together educators, students and representatives from the world of finance to recognise and celebrate the valuable work being done to build financial skills in young people.

MABS will present the findings of their Money Matters Survey, which found that while young people continue to demonstrate strong digital engagement and a growing sense of responsibility towards their personal finances, important gaps remain that require sustained attention from policymakers, educators, and researchers.

— Over a quarter (26%) of students don't know how to use an ATM

— TikTok has strengthened its dominance as the primary social media platform used for financial information/learning (72%), however,

— Parents and family members remain the primary source of financial learning (73%)

More than 150 students and their teachers from 20 schools across 13 counties will also attend the launch event to share their innovative financial literacy projects, which were sponsored by the CCPC's Our Money, Our Future programme.

In 2024, the CCPC launched the Our Money, Our Future programme, which invites post-primary schools and Youthreach Centres to apply for sponsorship up to €1,000 to support students in developing their own financial literacy initiatives and resources, based on topics and themes relevant to them. Over 10,000 students from 23 counties around the country participated in the programme in the 2025/26 school year.

Brian McHugh, Chair of the CCPC, said:

"Students in Ireland today are showing a real sense of financial curiosity; we can see this in the research conducted by MABS and through the high-calibre projects that students are creating through the Our Money, Our Future sponsorship programme. However, important gaps remain. It's up to policymakers and educators to try and close these gaps, which is why events like the Global Money Week launch – that bring together so many groups from the world of finance – are so important."

Karl Cronin, North Connacht and Ulster Regional Manager at MABS, said:

"The insights from this year's Money Matters research show that young people have strong financial curiosity, growing digital engagement, and a real sense of responsibility for their finances. When that curiosity is supported with early, practical financial education, it builds confidence that lasts into adulthood.

The results also highlight gaps that need continued focus, and MABS is committed to helping bridge those gaps by supporting initiatives, such as Global Money Week, that strengthen financial learning for young people across Ireland."

For more information on the Our Money, Our Future programme, please see here.

More about Irish Tech News

Irish Tech News are Ireland's No. 1 Online Tech Publication and often Ireland's No.1 Tech Podcast too.

You can find hundreds of fantastic previous episodes and subscribe using whatever platform you like via our Anchor.fm page here: https://anchor.fm/irish-tech-news

If you'd like to be featured in an upcoming Podcast email us at [email protected] now to discuss.

Irish Tech News have a range of services available to help promote your business. Why not drop us a line at [email protected] now to find out more about how we can help you reach our audience.

You can also find and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.

From Startup to Global Cybersecurity Company, ThreatLocker

Cybersecurity company ThreatLocker has grown from a small startup into a global technology firm employing more than 700 people.

Founded by entrepreneurs Danny Jenkins and Sami Jenkins, the company built its platform around a strict deny-by-default security model commonly described as Zero Trust. Instead of trying to detect cyber threats after they appear, the system blocks unauthorised software from running in the first place.

Speaking at the company's sixth Zero Trust World conference in Orlando, ThreatLocker's leadership outlined how this approach has driven the company's rapid growth and international expansion.

Danny Jenkins says the philosophy behind the platform is intentionally simple.

"We just figure out what needs to run on a system and allow that to run perfectly," he said. "Everything else is irrelevant. It doesn't need to be there."

This principle, allowing only what is explicitly approved to run, sits at the core of the company's platform.

A Different Approach to Cybersecurity

Traditional cybersecurity tools attempt to detect malicious behaviour or known threats. ThreatLocker takes a different approach by blocking everything by default and allowing only approved applications to run.

The aim is to prevent ransomware and other attacks before they can execute.

Jenkins believes the cybersecurity industry sometimes overcomplicates the problem.

"Everyone wants to think there's some kind of magic formula," he said. "But it's simple. You create a really good product that solves a real problem and then you make sure people understand what it does."

Seamus Lennon, Vice President of Operations for EMEA at ThreatLocker, says the model reverses how many traditional security systems operate.

"For the past twenty years security tools have tried to stay one step ahead of attackers," he said. "With a deny-by-default model you allow only what is required and block everything else."

From IT Services to Cybersecurity Platform

The idea behind ThreatLocker emerged from the founders' earlier work running IT services and security businesses.

While managing IT systems for customers during the 2010s, Danny and Sami Jenkins repeatedly saw ransomware and malware bypass existing security tools.

Sami Jenkins said the product grew directly from that experience.

"We were running IT management services and kept seeing the same issue," she said. "We looked for products that could solve it but couldn't find anything that worked the way we needed. So the only solution was to build one."

Development began in 2015 and the first version of the platform was released in 2017.

In the early stages the company consisted of only a handful of people working on the product. Today it has grown into a global cybersecurity company employing more than 700 staff.

Sami remembers the financial risk involved in building the business.

"We basically went bankrupt building this company," she said. "Credit cards and everything went into it. So it's very rewarding now to see the impact it has."

Irish Roots in the Company's Story

Ireland also played an early role in the story of ThreatLocker.

Sami Jenkins, whose maiden name is Samantha Yorke, grew up in County Meath close to the border with County Cavan. She met Danny Jenkins while he was working in the nearby town of Kingscourt, and the two entrepreneurs went on to build several technology businesses together.

"We met in Kingscourt," she said, and their partnership developed from there.

Before founding ThreatLocker, the pair established and later sold two earlier technology businesses, including ventures in email security and IT management services. Their work supporting IT systems for customers ultimately led to the development of the ThreatLocker platform.

Why Organisations Adopt the Platform

ThreatLocker's customers include large enterprises, managed service providers and organisations in sectors such as finance, manufacturing and healthcare.

Many organisatio...