Business

Croke Park Stadium has announced that the Etihad Skyline tour on the roof of the historic ground will open to the public on Friday, 1 June. Sponsored by Etihad Airways, the roof-top tour of Croke Park boasts spectacular panoramic views of Dublin city and its surroundings from 44 metres or 17 storeys above the ground. With an investment of over €1m and the creation of 10 jobs, the opening of the Etihad Skyline at Croke Park is expected to bring even more visitors to what is already Dublin’s most visited attraction. Some 100 tonnes of painted galvanized steel have gone into creating a 0.6-kilometre walkway, which was fabricated in Portlaoise…

An interactive tutorial for improving Spanish has won the senior animation category in the national Scratch competition, which gives primary and secondary school students the chance to learn how to use computer programming. 2nd year students Eleana Skelly and Kate Campbell from Alexandra College Dublin were declared winners for their project ‘Learn Spanish’. Returning winner Abdullah Mohammed from Carrigaline Community School Cork was declared winner of the Scratch Competition National Finals Senior Games Category. His 2012 winning entry is a multi level maths tutorial game. This annual competition is run by Lero (the Irish Software Engineering Research Centre), sponsored by the Irish Computer Societyand hosted in IT Tallaght. The finals…

Irish bookseller Eason is soon to launch an own-branded e-reader, a spokesman for the company has revealed. This comes the wake of Monday’s announcement that Waterstones with link with Amazon to sell Kindle e-readers and create wi-fi areas in-store where customers can download e-books. Eason had already stated it would create dedicated wi-fi areas where customers could download e-books from the Eason website as part of a €20m plan to modernise the chain. However, this is the first time the company has stated it will launch its own branded hardware. The move will be similar to that implemented by US bookseller Barnes & Noble, which has its own branded e-reader,…

Institute of Technology Blanchardstown (ITB) has welcomed 60 students aged 10 to 16 into the college to take part in an initiative created by teen programmer James Whelton. With the support and encouragement of entrepreneur Bill Liao, the first CoderDojo opened in Cork and has now come to ITB. In its third week, students come each Saturday for two and a half hours to learn how code, develop websites, apps, programmes, games and much more all with a bit of fun and imagination thrown in.  There are three more weeks to run at the ITB CoderDojo but another Dojo will be starting soon. In addition to learning to code, members…

Some 28pc of Irish businesses are in the process of deploying or planning desktop virtualisation projects, according to a new survey. Commissioned by DataSolutions, the survey of 546 companies reveals that of those interested in desktop virtualisation, 16pc were looking at an immediate project, with a further 46pc saying they had a project planned for 2012. One of the big drivers of desktop virtualisation for these Irish businesses continues to be cost, including the associated reduced total cost of ownership and the reduction in Windows 7 migration costs. Data Solutions said these findings are similar to the results of a similar survey in 2010. This year, however, mobility and the…

As aircraft maintenance company Transaero Engineering Ireland was officially launch in Shannon today, the managing director of its parent airline said it is likely to create additional jobs in the future. The launch of the company follows the acquisition of the former Air Atlanta Aero Engineering facility at Shannon Airport by Transaero Airlines, the second largest airline in Russia. Transaero Engineering Ireland currently employs 241 staff but this number is expected to grow through the addition of line/project maintenance on Boeing 747 and 777 aircraft and increased aircraft interior, training and engineering capability. The company has just released details of its annual aircraft engineer apprenticeship recruitment campaign. The company performs…

DuPont business Pioneer, through its joint venture partner Dunhuang Seed Pioneer Hi-Bred and Limerick-based Samco Agricultural Manufacturing, is to bring a cutting-edge corn sileage system to China. The environmentally-friendly technology will help to bring improved productivity to China’s northern corn growing areas and rapidly expanding dairy industry. Pairing Samco technology with Pioneer hybrids means farmers may be able to plant up to three weeks earlier each spring. The system may also provide the flexibility to harvest earlier in the autumn. The announcement was made during this week’s trade mission to China led by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney TD. “Pioneer has a proven track record of…

Procurement Minister, Brian Hayes, yesterday highlighted the importance of public sector contracts for small and medium sized enterprises in Ireland. The Minister, who together with Taoiseach, Enda Kenny met with 12 Irish SMEs that have won substantial State contracts, noted that the Government spends around €14bn a year on goods and services. “Too often the perception is that SMEs don’t win public sector procurement contracts,” said Minister Hayes. “The businesses that met with An Taoiseach today demonstrate that small and medium sized companies regularly win. “The Programme for Government has identified public procurement as a key driver in supporting SMEs,” he said. “Irish companies can succeed at the highest levels…