Change Leaders: Mairead Healy and Future Voices

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Change leaders: Mairead Healy and Future Voices For young people in Ireland, obtaining a third-level degree has arguably never been more critical. According to the National Youth Council of Ireland, Ireland had one of the highest youth unemployment rates in the EU during the recession. Even as the economy improves, shrunken retail and construction sectors mean that non-degree holders are the first to be left behind in a competitive job market. Recent statistics from the Department of Education are hopeful, with over 90pc of students sitting their Leaving Cert in 2013 and 2014. However, students from the lowest socio-economic backgrounds still lag behind their peers in this measure: in Ireland’s…

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Trim, Co Meath is Vodafone Ireland’s 500th 4G town

Anne O’Leary, CEO, Vodafone Ireland with broadcaster and Meath man Hector Ó’hEoghagáin

Trim, Co Meath has become Vodafone Ireland’s 500th 4G town, which means that its superfast 4G speeds are now reaching 90pc of the Irish population. 4G means ten times faster speeds on smartphones to watch videos with no buffering, instant photo uploads and seamless music streaming, while business customers can download large emails and send files quicker than ever before. Speaking at a reception attended by local business owners, community and public representatives in Trim, Vodafone CEO Anne O’Leary said: “Previously where you lived determined your access to high quality networks but we’re changing this.  We want to provide a service that anyone can use, creating massive potential to access…

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Nitro signs up AIB as its 500,000th customer

Business and Leadership Ltd.

Document and workflow solutions provider Nitro has secured a contract with AIB to roll out a solution to over 1,000 employees, meaning it has reached the milestone of 500,000 customers globally. Australian-founded with global headquarters in San Francisco, Nitro simplifies the way people create, edit, sign, and share digital documents. Nitro officially established its EMEA headquarters in Dublin in January of last year with plans to hire 50 employees in its first two years of operation. Since then, Nitro has experienced over 50pc growth in Europe and plans to expand to over 100 staff in Dublin by the end of 2016. It currently has 40 staff and a new larger…

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Eircom Junior Spider Awards 2015 deadline approaching

Business and Leadership Ltd.

The deadline for the 2015 Eircom Junior Spider Awards is approaching and primary and post primary schools across Ireland have just a matter of weeks to submit their projects. The awards, established to highlight how the students embrace the internet, also mark the innovative ways it is used both in school and in their daily lives. Similar to previous years, they are divided into three main categories: the Mega Spiders aimed at primary level; and the Giga and Tera Spiders, which are aimed at post primary level. The Giga Spiders are open to first-year to third-year students and the Tera Spiders are open to fourth-year to sixth-year students. For the…

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Apple to Build €850m Data Centre in Athenry

Business and Leadership Ltd.

Apple has announced plans to build an €850m data centre in Athenry, Co Galway. The company also said it will spend another €850m on a data centre in Denmark’s central Jutland. The two centres, which represent Apple’s most significant projects in Europe to date, will operate on 100pc renewable energy and power the company’s online services, including the iTunes Store, App Store, iMessage, Maps, and Siri for customers across Europe. The Apple Marketing Strategy is finally taking root in Ireland. The centres, each measuring 166,000 sq m, are expected to begin operations in 2017 and, according to Apple, include designs with additional benefits for their communities. In Athenry, Apple will recover land previously used…

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Suretank acquires majority stake in AmGulf Fabrication in the US

Suretank acquires majority stake in AmGulf Fabrication in the US

Co Louth engineering solutions provider to the offshore oil and gas industry Suretank has acquired a majority stake in US manufacturer AmGulf Fabrication for an undisclosed amount. The Louisiana-based company will be rebranded as Suretank USA with immediate effect. Having acquired a minority shareholding in 2013, Suretank developed “a strong working relationship” with AmGulf offering its full range of DNV 2.7-1 certified offshore tanks and cargo carrying units (CCU’s) from the company’s state of the art facility in Houma, Louisiana. “In pursuing our long-term strategy to build local in markets worldwide we are continuously looking for companies that help us to achieve this goal,” said John Fitzgerald, Suretank CEO. “The…

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Record bookings on Ryanair’s new US website

Ryanair launches winter 2015 schedule

Record bookings on Ryanair’s new US website Ryanair has reported record bookings from American customers following the launch of its new US Ryanair website in December, which enables flight bookings to be made in dollars. Bookings from the US have increased by almost 50pc in the two months since www.ryanair.com/us went live. London Stansted–Dublin is the most popular route for US visitors, followed by Edinburgh–Dublin, Rome–Barcelona, Paris–Dublin and Frankfurt Hahn–London Stansted, with the most bookings coming from customers living in California, New York, Texas, Florida and New Jersey. “Ryanair launched a dedicated American version of the Ryanair.com website to make it easier for US customers to book Europe’s lowest fares,” said…

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New public art installation entitled ‘Dublin Ships’ unveiled

Eamonn O’Reilly, chief executive of Dublin Port Company and artist Cliona Harmey

The Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality and Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Aodhán Ó Ríordáin has officially opened a new public art installation entitled ‘Dublin Ships’. Commissioned by Dublin City Council and supported by Dublin Port Company, the installation was unveiled at the Scherzer Bridges beside The Convention Centre Dublin on North Wall Quay, where the city of Dublin, the docklands and port meet. Created by the artist Cliona Harmey, this new piece of public artwork brings to life the movements of ships entering and leaving Dublin Port daily, creating a digital log of the port’s activities in full view of the city. The artwork is…

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Irish Water agrees €100m loan facility with Ulster Bank

Irish Water agrees €100m loan facility with Ulster Bank

Irish Water said today that it has signed a €100m loan facility with Ulster Bank in the first in a series of loan agreements expected to be agreed with other domestic and international banks in the coming weeks. The company said its long term funding plan is progressing well, and will enable it to finance the significant investment that is required in the water network. “The ability to access private sector financing in order to invest in improving Ireland’s water infrastructure was a key reason for the establishment of Irish Water,” said Ervia group finance director, Michael O’Sullivan. “The funds we are borrowing will be used to address decades of…

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When Big Companies Hurt The General Public

Defective Blood Clot Filters

No one wants to have a health procedure done to them only to have the problem turn into something worse. Far worse. Often the issue is just a problem that wasn’t known. Something unforeseen. Unfortunately, there are other times when the problem was known and nothing was done because the big company saw a greater expense in pulling the product than settling lawsuits. You read that correctly. And while this article isn’t going to “name names” of big companies who are engaged in this practice, the purpose is to make you aware so you can ask the right questions before a procedure, or even do the research yourself to ensure…

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