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 Entrepreneurs, business owners and managers throughout the Mid West Region will have an opportunity to discover the broad range of advice and support that is available from State Bodies at an event being held at the Strand Hotel in Limerick City on Tuesday, March 11th.
The Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation will host this half-day event, called ‘Taking Care of Business.’
Among the more than 25 State bodies and offices participating in this event are Enterprise Ireland, Revenue Commissioners, Local CEBs, Micro-Finance Ireland, Credit Review Office, Competition Authority, EPA, HSA, Companies Registration Office, Office of Government Procurement, Equality Authority, NSAI and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland.
The free event will feature advice and information on the supports available from enterprise agencies and Local Authorities; access to Finance programmes; requirements for food and environmental safety; tax, employment and Health & Safety obligations; and requirements for setting up and running your own business.
The Minister for Small Business, John Perry TD, explained the event is specifically targeted at people thinking of starting a business as well as existing small business owners and managers. “It is essential for SMEs to make the most of the advice and supports available to them, so I encourage entrepreneurs and those thinking of starting a business to capitalise on this chance to hear from a wide variety of agencies, in one location,” he said.
The Minister added: “This will also be a great opportunity for the Mid West Region’s business community to ask questions and raise individual concerns face-to-face with staff from across the public sector. My Department is committed to engaging with the small business community and this event will help SMEs to better understand the regulatory environment.”
The upcoming event is being supported by Limerick City and County Council, Chambers Ireland, SFA, ISME, IBEC, RGData, ACCA and the Hardware Association of Ireland.
As stated, ‘Taking Care of Business’ takes place in The Strand Hotel, Limerick City, on Tuesday March 11th and to register for the event and for more details including the running order of presentations and the full list of State Bodies attending, please visit www.takingcareofbusiness.ie.
 Dole queues continue to rise in Co Tipperary, according to new figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
Unemployment figures supplied for January appear to be small when compared to the increases recorded in the month of December of last year.
However these new figures fail to take into consideration job seekers who have changed their place of signing on; e.g. Moving home due to the non affordability of rented accommodation, or those who have decided to try their luck by emigrating abroad during the same month in question.
The latest CSO figures for January show over 8o extra people have joined the dole queues of Co Tipperary last month, with the towns of Nenagh (Latter which includes the surrounding areas of Toomevara, Cloughjordan, Borrisokane, Ballina, Silvermines, Rearcross and Templederry) and Thurles (Latter which includes surrounding areas of Holycross, Ballynonty, Ballingarry, Urlingford, Templemore and Borrisoleigh) the worst affected in North Tipperary. Some slight increases in unemployment are also recorded for the South of the county.
Overall there are now some 15,650 people claiming some form of unemployment related benefits in the county as a whole, many failing to seek opportunities in larger urban areas, where 90% of jobs are being created, due to the high priced costs linked to commuting for interviews.
Nationally Dole figures for unemployed males dropped by 2,300 in January, but the number of women signing on actually rose by 1,122, reducing the total number of those signing on to 400,700, down to 12.3%, from 12.4% in December.
Mr Jim O’Regan reports on today’s ‘Hidden Tipperary’ tourism meeting.
 Farney Castle, Co Tipperary. A meeting of the Hidden Tipperary Tourism group was held today (Tuesday February 4th, 2014), at Farney Castle, convening at 11:00am. The attendance included Tom Noone (Chairperson), George Willoughby (P.R.O.) St. Mary’s Famine Museum), Cyril and Margie Cullen (Farney Castle), Nuala Ryan (Upperchurch Development Assoc.), Pat Slattery (Cormackstown Heritage Centre), Liam Ó Donnchú (Acting Secretary) and Jim O’Regan (Lár na Páirce).
Apologies: Una Ryan (Marketing Eye), Councillor Evelyn Nevin (North Tipperary Tourism), Johnny Enright (Thurles Sarsfields), David Morgan (Semple Stadium), Michael Long (Cabragh Wetlands) and Adam Tozer (Holycross Abbey).
Hosts of this mornings meeting, Mr Cyril and Mrs Margie Cullen both took the group on a tour of Farney Castle, before the meeting commenced. (A visit to this venue is Highly Recommended, I might add.)
The Chairperson began by first asking for ideas on how the group might further advance the marketing of itself. The group agreed that a brochure should be printed, in addition to the web-based promotion currently being undertaken. All agreed to provide the Hidden Tipperary website administration with information, both for use on the website itself and for the preparation of a new brochure. It was agreed to only include information that is relatively permanent and to keep information of a more temporary character for website use, where it can be more easily updated.
Members spoke of encouraging the use of local media and in particular highlighted the recent coverage by the “Tipperary Star Newspaper” which had come on board since the beginning, providing coverage of recent meetings. The use of radio and its willingness to air programmes about the group was also discussed. There was general agreement that the latter should be further pursued once the contents of a brochure had been prepared.
The Chairperson then asked if anyone had further information relating to bus tour operators. It was pointed out that Farney Castle had recently been added to the Marathon Tours brochure. However other tour organisers saw Thurles as a problematic place to visit, because of traffic difficulties and parking.
Chairperson Tom Noone encouraged the group to continue to promote Thurles as a central location, both within Tipperary and in Ireland, particularly as North and South Tipperary are soon to be united, while strongly highlighting past and recent personal observances.
It was pointed out that there were no Hotel or B&B representatives as yet among the group, and attendees were encouraged to talk to the Hotel, Restaurant and B&B sectors locally and encourage them to send contact details and other relevant information.
Derrynaflan Hoard
P.R.O. George Willoughby updated the group on efforts to bring the Derrynaflan Hoard back to Thurles in 2015 on a visit, (Marking the 35th anniversary of it’s finding). He reported that through the continuous efforts of Alan Kelly (Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport), a meeting had been convened with the Director and Assistant director of the National Museum. With space for the meeting kindly afforded in Ministers Kelly’s private office in Kildare Street, presentations by the Minister and himself had examined policy ideas with both assembled senior Museum Officials for some 80 minutes. During these discussions Minister Kelly whittled down many of the major issues which arose, with main important start off points being identified; e.g. (A) Suitability of possible identified and named venues, (B) Insurance costs & required security issues. Further discussions in relation to the latter will now be further investigated with recommendations expected to be forwarded by the newly appointed County Tipperary CEO Mr Joe MacGrath, together with North Tipperary Councillors and their official staff to the Minister & National Museum Officials. Venues suggested were The Source, Lár na Páirce and St Patrick’s College with a preference for the latter, due to current town traffic congestion and delays.
Chairman Tom Noone proposed that the next ‘Hidden Tipperary Tourism Meeting’ be held four weeks from today. In keeping with the already agreed principal, that by the group meeting in each other’s facilities, they would better learn the range and variety of current visitor assets. Mr Pat Slattery invited the group to hold the next meeting at the Cormackstown Heritage Centre, thus setting a venue for Tuesday, March 4th, at 11:00 am.
The meeting concluded at 12:30pm with the Chairman, on behalf of the group, thanking both Margie & Cyril Cullen for their excellent hospitality & the Tipperary Star Newspaper for their solid local support in promoting Hidden Tipperary’s tourism activities.
Support Hidden Tipperary Tourism Group – Our very economic futures may greatly depend on it.
 In 2008, it was Mr John McGuinness TD, once Social Protection.’
The recipient of our letter is a male aged 21 years, holding recognised University qualifications, who unfortunately like so many Irish born individuals is currently in receipt of €100 weekly, as an unemployed person residing in the State. To retain issues of privacy we now refer to this individual as Pat.
Pat has to the complete satisfaction of an accountant, supplied full documentation in every respect to The Department of Social Protection, from which he currently receives his assistance here in Tipperary. Since October last Pat has only been employed for an eight weeks contract, on a minimum wage for 18 hours per week, to enable the setting up of a new retail business venture. His employer has made full returns to Revenue as required at years end, the true facts therein, thus generating this nonsense and lazy double check.
Implications In The Coming Weeks For Small Business & Thousands Of Unemployed
The document shown above was posted in Dublin city yesterday, postmarked 23/1/2014, at a cost to the taxpayer of €0.60 and received mid-day today. According to the date on the content of this communication, it obviously lay in an ‘Out Tray’ on some public servants desk for five days, before someone ran it through a franking machine and dropped it in a post bag.
Note: According to a female public servant at the Tipperary Social Protection Office and who refused to check Pats file, she claims that thousands of these letters have been already posted or are about to be posted to recently unemployed people, over the coming weeks. Same must be completed by employers supplying all necessary documentation sought.
The text of this letter states; “The Department of Social Protection has been notified by the Revenue Commissioners that, according to their records, you are working /having worked for/received a pension from ….
(a) Click on picture above for larger image and note that 3rd line of page one, names the last employer, and now blacked out.
(b) Part one, on page two, require the employer to confirm remuneration details paid to short contract employees, confirming details already supplied in many cases to Social Protection on termination of this contracted employment, thus doubling the workload on these employers.
(c) Since the original communication was delayed some six days prior to issue, based on the date shown on the letter, unemployed persons now have only 6 working days to respond to Social Protections request. Pat has been informed by his last employer that he must wait until time permits their accounting officials locate and copy payslips and time sheets.
(d) From our unemployed man’s point of view, who has already confirmed all of this information, two other issues now arise;
- Will he be cut his €100 if his previous employer fails to provide yet again this required information on time?
- Will he have enough money to attend an interview in Kildare in 12 days time for which he must expend €50 of his unemployment income in travel expenses, to attend?
(e) Since, as stated, Pat is aged 21 and has only worked six weeks in his entire life, how could he be accused of being in receipt of a pension?
One cannot feel but genuine sympathy for the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Mr Brendan Howlin and Minister of State, latter with responsibility for Public Service Reform, Mr Brian Hayes, as they both now attempt to implement overdue reform on a specially protected and over paid organisation controlled by unions who in turn protect deliberate daily incompetence, latter which is begun at the highest level and is silently sanctioned by other servile supervisors through the downward chain of command.
We invite your comments please.
 New Gardaí are to be now recruited again, on a rolling basis, to assist in maintaining the existing force’s overall strength at 13,000.
Approximately one hundred new recruits are expected to be admitted to the Garda training college in Templemore, Co Tipperary, at intervals of three to four months with the first batch of one hundred to arrive in Templemore next summer, graduating as fully fledged members of the force two years later.
Details of this new recruitment to the Gardaí, which has been dormant since 2009 because of a moratorium on public service numbers, is understood to be officially announced today.
It is understood that more than 32,000 applicants have already expressed an interest in joining the Garda force and same will form the bulk of those competing for the initial one hundred places.
These applications are currently being examined and the Public Appointments Commission will set an initial online test for interested parties in early January 2014. Further assessments will then be carried out and the numbers whittled down before a group is chosen for a full interviewing process.
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