Category: Uncategorized

IRISH beef farmers struggling to remove potentially dangerous and sub-par Brazilian beef from the EU market received a timely boost this week from an unlikely source.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed to the IFA last week that, based on sci- entific assessments, the USDA con- sider the risks too high and are not prepared to import fresh beef from Brazil.

Both Brazilian and Argentine beef has been underfire in recent times because of doubts over the safety of production methods as well as the documented foot and mouth problem in the region.

IFA National Livestock Chairman John Bryan last week contrasted this strong position of the USDA with that of the EU Commission which adopts the opposite policy on risk and imports 331,000 tonnes of beef from Brazil.

The IFA livestock leader had just returned from a visit to the USDA head office in Washington where he met with senior policy and veterinary experts to discuss the US approach

in not accepting fresh beef imports from Brazil.

“It is clear the USDA have a strong and robust policy when it comes to food safety and animal health risk assessment,’ he said.

‘They are not prepared to take un- necessary risks with their consumers and livestock sector. The US do not import fresh beef from Brazil be- cause they consider it too high a risk to take, both from a consumer and livestock point of view. We simply cannot afford to risk allowing fresh beef imports from Brazil into the ON ie

The IFA Livestock leader said the USDA are very proud of their robust policy on risk assessment and point to the fact that they have not had an outbreak of FMD since 1926. They put this down to not accepting fresh beef imports from Brazil and other abhcd eto Wh) ere Busts

He said the EU Commission must reassess its policy on imports from high-risk regions such as Brazil, where there are FMD outbreaks on a continuing basis related to the lack of standards and controls, particularly a lack of traceability and an absence of movement and border controls.

STUDENTS are being sought for a new course in equestrian studies to be held in Clonlara Equestrian Cen- tre as part of the educational pro- gramme for Limerick Senior Col- lege.

Course co-ordinator Sharon Tan- nian explained what the one year full time course aims to cover.

“The course will be very hands on and practical. The majority of the week will be spent at the cen- tre where students will develop and progress their horse-riding and sta- ble yard management skills. Limer- ick Senior College will be attended

for the essential science and business related modules.”

She added that the course was be- ing run is association with several equestrian bodies including the Irish Horse Board, Association of Irish Riding Establishments (AIRE), Association of Irish Riding Clubs (AIRC) and Shannon Development.

‘The Irish Horse Board considers it vitally important that individuals involved in the horse industry have access to education and training in horsemanship and horse care. Such training would facilitate an improve- ment to the conditions and welfare of the Irish horse by providing relevant and practical training to individuals

involved with horses on a day to day basis,’ she added.

The centre’s owner, Davnet Kiern- an O’Brien, has taught horse-riding at various levels for 12 years and she will be the course’s main instructor.

‘This course will cater for students of varying horse-riding abilities. We have no set number of places- around 10 to 15 most likely for the first year. The demand for qualified instructors and staff is definitely there so we are really looking forward to starting,” she said.

Clonlara Equestrian Centre is around 5km from Limerick and all equestrian disciplines are taught there including showjumping, cross-

country and dressage.

Potential students should have Leaving Certificate or FETAC quali- fications although mature students are exempt from some requirements.

The course will begin in September and application forms are available for download on www.limericksc. ie or by phoning the college on 061 ae

RYANAIR boss Michael O’Leary has confirmed that the airline will never operate a long-haul or transat- lantic flight but is in the process of establishing a sister company which will do so but not for a number of years yet and definitely not from Ire- land.

Suggestions that Ryanair would commence transatlantic flights were first mooted in 2001 but resurfaced last month following confirmation of the scrapping of the Shannon stopo-

ver and the introduction of a US/EU Open Skies policy.

Mr O’Leary said however that while such flights would not oper- ate from Ireland, some of the new company’s aircraft could be based at Shannon and that the mid west air- port could be used as a hub for these transatlantic services. Speaking af- ter he announced eight new services from Shannon Airport he said there was no possibility Ryanair would ever operate a long haul flight.

‘‘However, we are looking at a sep- arate stand-alone company that will

not be Ryanair, which in the next downturn in the industry, will pro- cure a fleet of long-haul aircraft to provide low fare point-to-point serv- ice across the Atlantic but they will not be from Ireland to the US.”

“We are talking about €10 or $10 fares from Europe to the US. It will not be from Ireland to the US but what we have in mind is with a fleet of 30 to 40 long haul aircraft, we would base two or three in about six or eight of Ryanair’s larger base air- ports in Europe and Shannon could be one of those.”

The most likely European bases would be Barcelona (Girona), Stan- sted in London, Frankfurt Hahn and probably Brussels and Stockholm Skavsta. There is a possibility that we could link Shannon with six or eight very exciting destinations and bigger cities in the US. Wherever we have a large base in Europe there is every likelihood that some of those long-haul planes could be based at Shannon.”

Mr O’ Leary stated however that all of this would not happed for “three or four years yet.”

WITH the technology sector coming under increased pressure in recent months, one Clare man has bucked the trend this week by being appoint- ed to one of the most senior positions in California’s Silicon Valley. Clarecastle’s Tim Leyden last week rejoined IT giants Western Digital, and will take over as Chief Finan- cial Officer (CFO) for the company, which is the worlds second largest producer of hard disks, on Septem-

ber 1, 2007.

Fifty-five year old Leyden is a sen- ior figure in the global software sec- tor and joins Western Digital from Sage Software where he was a Senior Vice-president and Chief Financial Officer.

This is Leyden’s second time at Western Digital having previously worked there from 1983 to 2000 in a variety of different capacities. He will be joining fellow Irishman, John Coyne, at the company which has more than doubled its revenues from

$2 billion in 2000 to $4.3 billion in paul eToys

“IT am delighted to welcome Tim back to the Western Digital team and look forward to having him work closely with me in addressing the tremendous opportunities available to Western Digital as the world’s sec- ond-largest supplier of hard drives,” said Western Digital CEO, John Srey sites

‘“Tim’s deep knowledge of the com- pany, its finances and operations and the hard drive industry will be major

assets to me and to the entire West- ern Digital organisation.”

Western Digital is currently consid- ered one of the most profitable firms in Silicon Valley. In recent years it was moved from making losses of $188 million to an income of $396 million, which has swelled it invest- ments to $699 million and posting one of the IT industry’s leading re- turns on invested capital in the proc- ess.

Coyne took over as CEO last No- vember and has acted early in an-

nouncing Leyden as successor for outgoing CFO, Steve Milligan.

Leyden will serve as Executive Vice President for Finance, reporting to Milligan until September 1, but will take full control before that date should Milligan decides to leave his post earlier than planned.

After leaving Western Digital for the first time, Leyden joined Sage Software in 2001 and also worked as a management consultant to tech- nology based companies such as Pit- tiglio, Rabin, Todd and McGrath.

SHANNON Airport is equipped to cater for more than 5 million passen- gers and will continue to develop in order to cater for any future expan- sion in passenger numbers, according to Airport Director Martin Moroney who was speaking after Ryanair’s announcement of eight new services from Shannon.

“If we see that passenger numbers will exceed five million, which we are well able to take, we will expand accordingly. We are expanding as it

is and we have already started to in- crease the number of departure gates for airlines including Ryanair,” he said.

“We are developing and expanding ahead of growth while Dublin Air- port is behind growth.

‘We are geared to take five million passengers and if we See it expanding beyond that, we will certainly invest. It will be difficult with the popula- tion base but with new road networks set to be finished by 2010, we will be very well placed,” Mr Moroney added.

“With the development of these roads we will try to draw passengers from Kilkenny, Kildare and Mulling- ar because the roads will make Shan- non more accessible than Dublin.

“We are better placed than most other airports and when the Ennis to Galway railway link is completed we will take advantage of that too.

“Galway people are the luckiest people in the world regarding inter- national connections with their own airport, Shannon and Knock but people still tend to travel to Dublin. We believe Shannon can take the

vast majority of this business in the future once the roads are completed and once we have increased both the short haul and transatlantic serv- Cone

Prior to Ryanair establishing its base at Shannon, the airport catered for approximately 2 million passen- gers every year.

“Galway is an important part of our catchment area for both inbound and outbound traffic, and we look forward to working with the tourism and business sector in harnessing support for these new Services”.

A PROJECT which has had a quiet existence in Shannon for the past 40 years was introduced to the wider community in the town last week.

The Sheltered Community Work- shops provide people with intellec- tual mental disabilities with an outlet that they would not otherwise have.

Through the project, hundreds of people – whose ages vary from 39 to 70 – work in a socially inclusive training environment, at the Indus- trial Estate in Shannon. They hail from all over the Munster region.

The group has been in existence for four decades, but has gone un- noticed by much of the community in Shannon, during that time.

Last week its co-ordinators decided to introduce the group and its work to the local community, through an open day at the Sean Lemass library in the town.

“The open day turned out very well. The aim was to get the people more involved in the community in which they live,’ said co-ordinator Martina Halpin.

‘People didn’t even know the work- shop and the disability centre was here. I was surprised by that,’ she added.

Art work, put together by members of the group, was put on display, for the open day.

Over the past 10 years, the group has mainly worked with Irish Coun- try Pottery, while some of its mem- bers have also worked in the restau- rant, located on the same premises. Their pottery is sold throughout the country and has grown in popularity in recent years.

Training, through Clare Adult Education Centre as well as through the FAS Community Employment Scheme, takes place on a regular ba- Sy

“We have done extensive training over time. The main focus of the workshops is to give people with mental intellectual disabilities an en- vironment where they feel included and it also puts something back into society, said Ms Halpin.

‘They produce the pottery here and are learning a lot at the same time,’

added Ms Halpin.

“If they didn’t have this place, they wouldn’t have any place. It is a home for them. It gives them an independ- ence,’ she said.

‘For over 40 years, the many train- ees within the workshop have seri-

ously contributed to the economic growth of Shannon town, bringing a beautiful selection of tableware, decorative lamps to the Irish and in- ternational markets,’ she added. More than 100 pieces of pottery will be displayed at the Sean Lemass

library during the month of June. These are the work of the commu- nity employment participants.

THE prices that farmers are receiv- ing for their produce continues to dominate across every sector of the industry this week, with a growing sense of dissatisfaction beginning to eaKO A

Last week, the ICMSA met with senior representatives of Meat In- dustry Ireland and stated clearly to them that the prices being returned to farmers at the present time are unsustainable and threaten the very future of winter finishing in Ireland.

“With significantly increased feed bills, nitrate directive investments and the losses already suffered this year, many farmers who tradition-

ally finished cattle during the winter period will change their system of production,” said Martin McMahon, Clare farmer and chairperson of IC- MSA’s Beef and Cattle Committee.

“These farmers have guaranteed meat plants a year-round supply of beef which has been critical in build- ing up high-value markets. The un- fortunate reality is that these high value markets are, at present, not leading to acceptable prices for win- ter finishers and these farmers are now being effectively penalised for providing the raw material for these markets.”

The ICMSA delegation told Meat Industry Ireland that unless beef prices increase immediately, farmers

will either scale back production or move to a system of finishing ani- mals off grass.

“The hard choice is for the meat plants, to either raise beef prices 1m- mediately or irreparably damage the long-term future of their own busi- ness. Farmers cannot be blamed for this; they cannot continue to supply beef at a loss,’ said McMahon.

Meanwhile, the IFA National Dairy Committee Chairman, Rich- ard Kennedy, has said EU markets for SMP and butter were continuing to be firm, pulling away ahead of even the historically high prices of €2,/00/t for butter and €3,100/t for SMP paid in May by the Irish Dairy Board.

However, only a fraction of this, he says, has been passed back to farm- ae

“EU market quotes have contin- ued to rise for both SMP and butter. I have no doubt that the Irish Dairy Board will reflect this further in- crease, worth a further 4.5c/l over the coming weeks. When they do, this will increase returns to co-ops from the current 38.8c/I to over 43c/l,” he said. “EU market returns have now increased by a total of 15.1c/l (68.7c/ gallon) since last July, of which the IDB has passed on 12.7c/l (58c/gal- lon) so far. Farmers have only been paid, at best, 2.6c/l (12c/gallon) — just about 1/6th of the actual market improvement,” he added.

UNDERAGE hurling and football in Shannon has received a timely boost, with the announcement that SkyCourt is to continue to sponsor Wolfe Tones na Sionna juvenile club, for the next three years.

The town centre company has ex- tended its current three-year backing for the juvenile section, up to and in- cluding 2009.

The juvenile club has enjoyed con- siderable success over the past three seasons, winning a number of county

titles in different grades. The club has grown during this time, and there are almost 400 young boys and girls under the age of 18 playing football, hurling and ladies football.

Since 2004, Wolfe Tones has tak- en top honours in football in minor (twice), under-16 championship and league, and under-12A champion- ship grades. In hurling, it won the minor B, under-12 hurling shield and under-12 B hurling titles. Underage ladies football honours were won by the minors, under-16, under-14A and B teams, and under-12s.

“We were delighted to be associ- ated with such success and with the wonderful efforts of Wolfe Tones members and mentors to coach and field up to 25 juvenile teams in all,” said Pat Kelly, SkyCourt Shannon manager.

“The company is strongly com- mitted to assisting local groups and sporting bodies in Shannon, and we are pleased to build on this partner- ship with such a successful organisa- tion as Wolfe Tones, by committing support for a further three years to the juvenile club,” he added.

Welcoming the announcement, Wolfe Tones Chairman, ‘Tony O’Connell thanked SkyCourt for its continuing support. He said it will greatly assist the club in its efforts to promote healthy recreation for the growing population of young people in the town.

“The task of preparing and provid- ing facilities and equipment for the different teams and age-groups is a formidable one for a voluntary or- ganisation. Help received from the business community 1s crucial to our efforts,’ he said.

THE Minister for Agriculture and Food, Mary Coughlan, last week an- nounced the publication of the An- nual Review and Outlook for Agri- culture and Food 2006/2007.

“The all-encompassing nature of the agri-food sector 1s very much ev1- denced in this publication,” she said. “It continues to be one of the most important and dynamic indigenous manufacturing elements in the Irish economy, consisting of over 130,000 family farms and around 700 in- dustrial units spread throughout the Coa

“Tt plays a vital role in the Irish economy through provision of direct

as well as indirect employment and constitutes the backbone of rural de- velopment from both an economic and social perspective. The annual review reflects the level of impor- tance and the wide ranging nature of the sector.”

Despite increased international competition agri-food exports reach- ing a record level of more than €8 billion in 2006.

Within the export sector, there were notable increases of 26 per cent for beverages, 14 per cent for beef and 10 per cent for prepared foods. Overall, the agri-food industry is estimated to account for 9.8 per cent of total ex- ports, 8.1 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) and 8.1 per cent of

employment.

“The food, drink and _ tobacco (FDT) sector continues to play a vital role in the Irish economy. It remains one of the largest indigenous indus- tries both in terms of manufacturing and consumer spend,’ continued the minister.

The FDT sector, with just over 15 per cent of units located in Dublin, exhibits a wider regional spread than the manufacturing sector as a whole where one quarter of units are con- centrated in and around the capital.

Among Irish enterprises the FDT sector has consistently outperformed the manufacturing sector as a whole in terms of the proportion of expend- iture attributable to Irish goods and

ots one

This is highlighted by the fact that Irish Economic Expenditure (IEE) accounts for over 75 per cent of ex- penditure in the FDT sector com- pared with less than 50 per cent for the overall manufacturing sector.

Coughlan emphasised the Govern- ment’s commitment to the sector with public expenditure of €2.9 bil- lion in 2006.

She believes that the National De- velopment Plan (NDP) and Rural Development Programme 2007-2013 will ensure that adequate resources are made available for improving the structure and competitiveness of the Sector, in line with the vision set out in the Agri-Vision 2015 Action Plan.

THE students of St Caimin’s in Shan- non have lent a hand to a former stu- dent of the school, who is undertaking charity work overseas.

Brian Deighan is going to Zambia, doing volunteer work, next month. The St Caimin’s students engaged in three bag-packing days in Shan- non Town Centre, and in the process raised €1,000. This is being divided between Mr Deighan’s project and The Four Peaks Challenge, which is being undertaken by Shannon busi- ness Connor Winfield Limited.

The Students Council, second year classes and students who are involved in the french exchange, took part in

Hatem ADU OCOD ecDIpOTSS

Mr Deighan (22), from Sooreeney, Sixmilebridge, will travel to Lusaka, Zambia, in July, working as a volun- teer in St Lawrence’s Home of Hope for street children. This is a project of the Irish Jesuit’s outreach organisa- tion, Sli Eile.

Brian – who is a neuroscience re- search student in ‘Trinity College Dublin – and eleven others will work with the street children at St Law- rence’s through music, sport and teaching. They will be living in the local community, a shanty town, for the duration of the three-week project and will undertake ways in engag- ing young boys in activities such as sports, music, basic reading and writ-

ing for three weeks. Each volunteer has to collect almost €2,500 and all of the money will go directly to the project’s work.

Brian will depart on his trip on July 4 and will return on July 24.

In a separate fundraising project, Shannon electronic company, Con- nor Winfield is fundraising for Focus Ireland, through the Four Peaks Chal- lenge. It aims to advance the right of homeless people to live in a place they call home, through quality services, research and advocacy.

Focus Ireland responds to the needs of people who are at risk of becom- ing homeless, through a range of ap- propriate high quality services. It also provides emergency transitional and

long-term accommodation for people out-of-home and campaigns for the rights of people with no homes.

Focus Ireland organises The Four Peaks Challenge every year and in- vites teams of between three and five walkers, along with two drivers per vehicle, to climb the highest moun- tain in each of four provinces over one weekend. Each team must raise a minimum of €4,500 in sponsorship, to help homeless people. This is the second year that this company Is par- ticipant in The Four Peaks Challenge.

“We are very grateful for the very generous donation to our fundrais- ing efforts by St Caimin’s Secondary School,” said Connor Winfield man- aging director John O’Connell.