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Those of you, our valued 194,522 readers, who doubt our claim that present Government Ministers actually rush to read our blogs every morning, (as soon as they clock in.) please now take note. I am referring of course to our recent blog entitled “Integrated Plan Generating 300,000 Jobs A Fairytale“.
More than 1,800 schools will wake up this morning to the unbelievable news that they are to receive grants worth almost €10 million in total. (Less than the National Lottery prize this week) to help reduce their water usage, and save on bills of €3m annually, paid to local councils.
 Water Storage Tank Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills, Mary Coughlan (Great on the maths, our Donegal friend) will announce today that department officials will contact 1,823 schools with €9.75m of our taxes, offering up to €5,348 per school, to cover the costs of installing percussion spray taps, thermostatic mixing valves and water displacement devices. Of course she forgot to include, in her plans, provision for roof rain water storage which would assist in conservation and a reduction in flooding. Obviously John Gormley wasn’t consulted about the action plan, prior to the announcement. Big into water conservation our John – or was it water charges – I forget.
Our Tánaiste Mary Coughlan stated: “I would ask schools to ensure that they get best value for money on prices for jobs in the more competitive construction market. These works will reduce the water charges being paid by schools and I am delighted to be able to provide boards of management and trustees with a means to do so.” No Mary, pet, we the taxpayers are delighted to be able to provide school boards of management and trustees with a means to do so.
Now Mary while you are on the subject of water, could you please sort out something else, the standing charges for water, applied by various local authorities.
Example: The standing charges in different local authority areas vary widely for some, as yet, unknown reason. Standing charges vary widely, from €212 in Thurles born Mary Hanafin’s own constituency of Dun-Laoghaire/Rathdown, to a humble €100 a year in our own Thurles Town. Schools in Co Mayo are paying 0.91 cent per cubic metre for their water supply compared to Roscommon Co Council who charge €2.39 per cubic metre.
Forget the digital projectors, white boards and teacher’s laptops Mary. Check first if the teacher can send an e-mail and secondly check if broadband is actually available. Once this information is established, now use the remaining €19 m of that recent €20m school technology fund to get the water sorted and reduce, for the short term at least, our rising flood water and rising unemployment numbers.
Why do I have to spell everything out for you, now get on with it, or I will be taking that trip to Áras an Uachtaráin and you know what that means.
 Information, just released, reveals that an additional ten persons have been recruited to Thurles’s Garda Central Vetting Unit to manage the 60,000 vetting applications currently awaiting processing. This now brings to 15 the number of employees extra introduced to the service since June last.
North Tipperary Deputy Noel Coonan confirming this news stated:
“The Minister for Justice has informed me that due to the high volume of applications, an additional ten persons have now been recruited to the Vetting Unit on a temporary basis. In addition, overall staffing arrangements at the unit are under review at present, in the light of the increasing demands being made upon it. The allocation of Garda resources is a matter for the Garda Commissioner and I’m pleased to see the Thurles facility on Racecourse Road has acquired extra staff to handle the substantial increase in the numbers of vetting applications being received. The Garda Authorities have told me that the current average processing time for vetting applications is in the region of 10 to 12 weeks, given that demand is particularly high at present. However, I’m optimistic that waiting times will be shortened as a result of the increased staffing numbers. The safety of children and vulnerable adults is vital; making it crucial that vetting is carried out swiftly and people such as social workers or teachers are employed as soon as possible and their jobs are not put at risk because of long processing times. Processing time for vetting applications fluctuates during the year due to seasonal demands when the volume of applications received from certain sectors can increase and I want to commend the Gardaí who make every effort to reduce waiting times, while carrying out necessary checks.”
The local Fine Gael TD welcomed the extra appointments saying that the excessive backlog and slow processing time was putting jobs in jeopardy.
The Garda Central Vetting Unit carries out an essential role and does so excellently in providing employment vetting for a large number of organisations in Ireland registered with the Gardaí, which employ persons to positions where they would have substantial, unsupervised access to children and/or vulnerable adults.
Until Tuesday last, the Danish author and poet Hans Christian Anderson was regarded as possibly the greatest storyteller of all time. This position has now been superseded by An Taoiseach Brian Cowen and his followers, following the announced new integrated plan for trade, tourism and investment aimed at generating up to 300,000 jobs.
This five year fairytale aims to increase the number of overseas visitors to the country to eight million and attract an extra 780 foreign investment projects through the IDA. The Taoiseach was joined in this story telling session by the Minister for Enterprise Batt O’Keeffe, Minister for Tourism, Thurles born Mary Hanafin, Minister for Agriculture Brendan Smith and Minister for Trade and Commerce, Billy Kelleher.
Water Storage Tank This new jobs announcement is nothing short of a carefully choreographed PR stunt to dissuade the millions intent on shortly taking to the streets and while 150,000 people may be fooled into thinking that our future problems are suddenly solved, 850,000 still remain resolute. This latest announcement demonstrates further, contempt for the Irish population, lack of realistic imagination and non existent leadership, from those currently charged with with running this State. This government are comedians and 300,000 jobs has to be their biggest joke to-date.
If this so called plan could not be achieved in the last two years, how in God’s name are they going to going to achieve it now. The trains and boats and planes are filling daily with our young and not so young, each forced immigrant educated at the expense of Irish taxpayers, leaving this country of birth to offer their skills to our market competition.
One piece of the fairytale however may be true, Brazil, China, India, Russia, Japan and the Gulf States appear to be the preferred destination for next year’s St Patrick’s Day junkets, under the guise of selling indigenous exports into new high-growth target markets.
OK, so I am using harsh language here, but let us together examine the facts using a calculator.
The plan is to create 300,000 jobs over five years. This means 60,000 jobs per year or 1,153.8 jobs every week. This would be the realistic equivalent of a new Dell Computer manufacturing plant being built every fortnight or one Intel plant being built every week. Where is Dell now and jobs in tourism are totally dependant on strong recovery in the world’s economy, latter presently stagnant or slow at very best and the signs are that it will remain so for at least another decade.
So what should we be doing realistically to get back to work and aim at profitability?
Unlike political parties we do not criticize without offering strong alternative solutions and here is just one.
Continue reading Integrated Plan Generating 300,000 Jobs A Fairytale
 The Scottish distillers William Grant & Sons Ltd is to sell liqueur brands Irish Mist, Carolans and Frangelico to Gruppo Campari for €129 million.
There are expected to be no immediate job losses as a result of this deal since Gruppo Campari are signing a 10 year manufacturing services agreement for William Grant to provide blending and bottling services for the liqueur brands at its Clonmel bottling operations here in Co Tipperary. The division’s management and team involving 57 employees will transfer with the business on its disposal and William Grant will continue to operate the division’s packaging facility located at the group’s manufacturing site here in Clonmel.
William Grant purchased the three named brands from C&C Group plc earlier this year as part of a €300 million deal for its spirits division.
The Scottish distiller is retaining the Tullamore Dew Irish whiskey brand, and said it remained committed to making a significant investment in Ireland. The company announced earlier this month that it would establish its new global marketing office in Dublin, creating 17 jobs. The office will manage global marketing operations for the firm’s non-Scotch brands including Sailor Jerry, Hendrick’s Gin and Tullamore Dew.
North Tipperary Deputy Noel Coonan is urging financially strained families throughout the constituency to avail of a new grant called the STEP UP! Grant for Education, Training and Skills, which is available to people formerly self-employed, jobseekers, people in receipt of social welfare and full time students.
 North Tipperary Leader Partnership The local Fine Gael TD said the grant, administered by North Tipperary Leader Partnership, replaces the former Millenium Grant.
It will assist those most in need and examples of some of the costs eligible under this programme include tuition fees, transport costs, materials costs and accommodation costs. Grants are subject to available funding and selection and will be based soly on the information supplied, supporting documentation and informal meeting.
Deputy Coonan has informed www.thurles.info that:
“The STEP UP” Grant will be an enormous help to the many people who are in financial difficulties and those who feel they are eligible should apply as soon as possible due to funding being limited. While this Government claims that the economy has turned a corner and that its plan for recovery is working, there are still record numbers on the dole throughout North Tipperary. Nationally, 100,000 people have emigrated in the last two years, unemployment rate is the second highest in Europe and one in three men under 30 are now out of work. This means countless families are struggling to make ends meet and any grant that can help allay concerns is warmly welcomed.”
So where do I apply you ask ?
Feel free to contact Noel Coonan office Tel: 0504 32544 for an application form, or you can download same by clicking – Here
Applicants must be resident in the North Tipperary area and completed application forms will be accepted until Friday 19th November 2010 next.
Email applications will not be accepted, as supporting documents are required and forms need to be signed in person. Applicants will be contacted as part of the application process. Decisions on grants will be made on the basis of the evidence supplied.
People who are eligible include those formerly self-employed, who are not eligible for other supports and who can show need, those who are holders of or dependents of persons, with Social Welfare Payments such as Job Seekers Allowance, Job Seeker Benefit or means-tested welfare payment.
Applicants in receipt of the Back to Education Allowance for unemployed people, lone parents and people with disabilities will also be considered. Applicants in receipt of a Local Authority, County Council or V.E.C. maintenance grant (thus establishing level of income and residence) will only be eligible in exceptional circumstances.
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