The Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) have released figures showing a rise in the sale of scrappage and non-scrappage cars this year.
I spoke to SIMI Press Officer Suzanne Sheridan to find out more.
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Safefood and St Angela’s College Sligo have launched a competition to encourage secondary school students to make their favourite take away food healthier.
I speak to Dermot Moriarty, Marketing and Communications Manager at Safefood.
Listen to this short peice on what Leaving Cert students think of Fine Gael’s proposals to remove Irish as a compulsory subject.
What do students think of FG’s proposals on compulsory Irish?
15ft tall, 8 year old Boy Explorer, making his way across the country in search of brilliant ideas. This giant boy will be coming across Ireland and manifesto of children’s ideas which he will personally deliver to the GPO. Noeline Kavanagh of the Macnas street arts company tells us more. Report by Dave O’Grady
With the recent forced closure of three restaurants due to breeches in food safety, I asked Dr Bernard Hegarty of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, how safe is our food?
Here is a voxpop recorded piece of people who are spending money during the recession.
I wanted to speak with people who didn’t seem to be affected by the downturn.
Dave O’Grady
Businesses can save jobs by printing in black and white.
Over the next few months companies will be trying to shave back on spending in all sectors as 2011 brings more woe for business. New approaches can be taken and surprisingly many companies have been seeking outside advice on how to cut costs.
Bob Hogan, Managing Partner at New Wave Purchasing believes that a lot of businesses are blind as to what can be achieved by cutting costs in particular areas. “One of the biggest trends last year was the area of utility costs. Telephone, broadband, IT, ESB, mobile phones, printing costs and stationary can eat up to 50 percent of any companies spending budget”, he said.
Bob argues that there are huge benefits from cutting down on these costs. Companies will be able to keep people employed and they will begin profit from their sales. But a large amount of spending can be overlooked and go unnoticed, particularly by the bigger companies.
“It’s a bit of a double edge sword. If it’s a big company then they may have leakage or maverick buying. This is where the departments in a company have their own control over buying supplies separately, and do not get group deals at good prices”, Bob says.
In something as simple as a phone line, cost saving can be achieved. Every business should be auditing their spending here. Companies should begin by gathering data on all their calls. Find out where the majority of their spending is. Look at what numbers are the highest.
Secondly, the telecommunications market has been deregulated and there are great deals to be sought by shopping around the various providers for better deals. Companies can save over 10 percent in this area.
Bob’s company, New Wave Purchasing, audit the spending for businesses and provide a recommendation report on where savings can be made. “On a lot of occasions we only need to provide the list of potential savings for our customers but many of them ask us to implement these savings. We are paid a small percentage of the savings made by companies”, he said.
A serious problem facing employers today is staff costs and we are constantly hearing of companies having to lay off workers. Taking the right steps may reduce the risk of job loss in a business. The difference is that staff costs are fixed whereas telephone, services and utility costs are not.
In retail, manufacturing and other industries, the cost of utilities and services are considerably large. These tactics can be used in almost all lines of business.
Bob’s advice for the year would be to get a long term deal in place with suppliers. ‘If you buy in bulk for longer periods of time, it will be cheaper’, he said.
An idea is to approach the coming months with an open mind and be aware of the market. For office work, change the setting on the printers to print in black and white. Colour costs money and maybe print on double-sided pages.
The most important advice by Bob is to come up with an overall cost plan. Find out the highest level of spending. If the business does not have the personnel or time to implement these methods then they can always hire a company like New Wave Purchasing to do it for them!
Does Trap really know what he is doing? The most recent team selection by the Italian has baffled pundits once again.
Maybe this time there will be less criticism than usual towards Trap as the inclusion of Everton’s Seamus Coleman and Aston Villa’s Ciaran Clark offer some hope that he is willing to accommodate our future hopes.
The usual suspects are also included in the squad as we have come to expect with Trap’s predictable nature. But what can honestly be achieved with picking players that cannot even make the starting line ups in the English Championship.
Paul McShane has returned from a long injury and has struggled to force his way back into the Hull City team. Alex Bruce on the other hand, who has not been included in the squad, continues to be ever present in a much improved Leeds side. His exclusion is baffling, especially since he received recent praise from Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger for a superb cup performance.
Trap has also shown loyalty to Andy Keogh, a player who went to Cardiff to play first team football but has fallen down the pecking order with Craig Bellamy returning to fitness. He should have been replaced by Kilmarnock’s Conor Sammon who may well end up as the SPL’s top goal scorer. He has caused defences serious problems this year and it helps as he is a tall player with good control on the ball.
Keith Treacy no longer gets his game with Preston. He remains a substitute under the new manager. Wes Houlahan is again forgotten by Trap despite his good form this year. He remains as one of the most creative players in the Championship who is involved in almost all of Norwich City’s goals.
The most notable change that should have been made is that of our veteran, now League One star, Kevin Kilbane. Sometimes managers keep players like Kilbane in their squad as their terrific professional attitude rubs off on those around them. The difference here is, Trap actually plays him and his lack of pace can cause problems especially up against quick moving teams like Russia. His most suitable replacement should be Stephen Ward, whose exclusion is a mystery considering he plays every week in the Premiership and has a lot to offer in the left back position.
It should also be noted that Paul Green is no longer getting much game time at Derby County. Likewise, Irish Captain Robbie Keane and Stoke’s Glenn Whelan do not start.
One of the premiership’s most mobile midfielders has also been overlooked. James McCarthy, the promising youngster, has just returned from injury to Wigan’s relieve, but finds that his place in the Ireland squad is being occupied by players who are still out of action due to injury. Kevin Foley and Stephen Kelly will need more time to recover but a promising 20 year old, who has recovered and back in the Wigan team, cannot make our squad.
The upcoming Carling Nations Cup should be the platform to try out new players but Trap will no doubt stick to the tried and trusted regardless of their level of skills and technical ability. The central midfield area is the obvious weak link in the squad with their inability to hold onto the ball. It will be obscene if he persists with his first choice of Green and Whelan again considering neither of them start for their clubs. In fact Marc Wilson is picked ahead of Whelan at Stoke.
Trap has indicated that Robbie Keane will need to play more games at club level if he is to continue getting games for Ireland but maybe he should start taking his own advice and drop many of his other regulars who do not get games at their clubs.
For all the negative views surrounding the emergence of public participation and the amateur journalist, there are some cases that show how both amateur and professional journalists can work together.
Indymedia sites present us with alternative news websites where both 
professional and amatuer journalists come together. Material for each subject is grouped together and presented in a very professional way. One journalist may write the story, a photographer may provide video clips, and citizen journalists may provide addtitional and follow up information.
I think that this type of media is effective in providing a reader/viewer with the most possible available information on a given story. I think that this will be the future of the journalist industry.
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