Summer 2010 - the summer we dared not be happy
Fri, Aug 20, 2010
Sad and sorry news this week with the announcement to staff at Mayo General Hospital that 150 of its temporary workers are to lose their jobs from September, while the ESB has admitted cutting off supplies to a shocking 900 households per month. Despite having already endured two years of misery since the economic crisis first took hold, this fresh new onslaught suggesting things will continue to get much worse before they get better, is enormously draining. There are some - though they are few and far between - who are happily weathering this recession well and even capitalising on it - having carefully covered their bases in time - and good for them. Indeed, 80 per cent of existing businesses in Ireland today that have managed to stay afloat and successful through these difficult times were actually set up during previous recessionary times - because, apparently, recession equals opportunity for new business.
Read more ...Summer 2010 - the summer we dared not be happy
Fri, Aug 20, 2010
Sad and sorry news this week with the announcement to staff at Mayo General Hospital that 150 of its temporary workers are to lose their jobs from September, while the ESB has admitted cutting off supplies to a shocking 900 households per month. Despite having already endured two years of misery since the economic crisis first took hold, this fresh new onslaught suggesting things will continue to get much worse before they get better, is enormously draining. There are some - though they are few and far between - who are happily weathering this recession well and even capitalising on it - having carefully covered their bases in time - and good for them. Indeed, 80 per cent of existing businesses in Ireland today that have managed to stay afloat and successful through these difficult times were actually set up during previous recessionary times - because, apparently, recession equals opportunity for new business.
Read more ...Starting dates for jobs is the only news that matters
Fri, Aug 13, 2010
Almost as soon as the impending five per cent increase in electricity costs were announced this week, the clicking sound of light switches going off all around the country could distinctly be heard. Once more with the system out to get the people, the people will play to beat the system. As we know only too well, there is nothing the Irish like more than a challenge. Lay down the law of the land and they’ll find a way around it. Pay taxes in full? Not likely when there are cartloads of creative ways around stumping up full whack. Cough up more for the pleasure of luxurious heat and lighting in the home? Get a grip. We’re descended from survivors of the Great Famine. We know how to do 40 coats. We can do hardship if we have to.
Read more ...The business of branding to become a business success
Fri, Aug 06, 2010
To be successful in business you need to be visible and happily from this week on a whole new raft of interesting companies, employers, and employees will be making themselves known to readers of the Mayo Advertiser. Once introductions are made, the businesses concerned will showcase their products and services on an ongoing basis, explaining exactly what they have to offer and justifying why their business is the one to choose above competitors.
Read more ...Lively debate and cultural insights to benefit Castlebar
Fri, Aug 06, 2010
The county town will this month benefit from the moving of the annual Humbert School to Castlebar from Ballina, which will inject much needed tourism to the town. The school will also boost the Killala economy during the three day event.
Read more ...Short-term planning is where the future lies
Fri, Jul 30, 2010
The clamour over the announced shelving of the Mayo-Galway section of the Western Rail Corridor this week is not as loud as it could be. Yes, there has been some strong and swift reaction from predictable quarters declaring this rural slight by Government must simply not be tolerated, but on the whole objections are fairly mute. This is interesting given that the development of a train route connecting the west with neighbouring towns and cities other than our Dublin capital is something many voices have argued for over the years. It might have been expected that staunch campaigners would therefore lobby right through from A-Z on the project, but no, many seem to be taking this latest hitch sitting down. Perhaps the 'silly season' is to blame or maybe just the holidays. Out of sight, out of mind, sort of thing.
Read more ...Happy return to summer spending but let’s not forget our manners
Fri, Jul 23, 2010
Official or not, signs that the recession is lifting at least temporarily are definitely coming more to the fore these days as the buzz of summer and holiday living affects many towns. As we get used to having to contend with crowded pathways and more people and cars on our roads and streets, the revival of consumer-driven activity makes a welcome return. At the same time, such a rapid reversal to our old habits of feeding whims and indulgences through materialism gives rise to a certain sense of unease, begging the question, have we learned anything from the hard times and will the gap between the haves and the have-nots ever lessen at all?
Read more ...New hotel for Westport shows pioneering spirit still reigns
Fri, Jul 16, 2010
Just in case it did not have enough hotels, plans are now in place for the development of yet another hotel in Westport. Leading hotels in this tourist haven for County Mayo include the Castlecourt Hotel, the Westport Plaza, Hotel Westport, Knockranny House Hotel, the Westport Woods Hotel, the Mill Times Hotel, the Wyatt Hotel, the Clew Bay Hotel and the Atlantic Carlton Hotel. Now, as part of an ambitious masterplan, management at Westport House and Country Estate have announced their intention to develop a number of major new residential units including houses, apartments and a hotel, all still subject to planning but which if approved, are tipped to create 100 new jobs in the area in the distant future.
Read more ...Bring on the ‘Silly Season’ for some light relief
Fri, Jul 09, 2010
The silly season kicks off from around this week as TDs and senators abandon Dail Eireann and head off to sun themselves in some of the world's hottest holiday destinations. Going by the stories hitting the newsdesk here at the Mayo Advertiser this week you would certainly have to wonder if someone is ‘taking the Mick’.
Read more ...Change of personnel does not solve leadership issue
Fri, Jul 02, 2010
Changing personnel is what it’s all about these days as new cathaoirlaigh, mayors, managers, etc, are appointed to various public, sporting, and management bodies in our midst. Changing name plaques on doors or editing job titles to suit new responsibilities will not really cut it though in solving the many issues now facing us if the people appointed to positions of high authority are not also leaders themselves. Leadership, after all, is the essence of our existence. Most of us choose to live by copying others, but those rare heroes and heroines whose modus operandi is to blaze a trail that we all want to follow — these are the people we are truly seeking out — especially now that a proper sense of direction so eludes us.
Read more ...Long days and sunshine holidays make for busy week
Fri, Jun 25, 2010
It’s all happening this week, what with VAT increases up north combined with the falling rate of the euro expected to put an end to the pull of cross-border shopping; the proposed introduction of yet another property tax — this time for everyone with a roof over their heads — that’s expected to work out at approximately €1,000 per person (but which should generate oodles of new income for those involved in the business of ‘independent assessment’ of house values); the proposal to abolish town councils gaining greater clarity as it transpires that the dual mandate is set for a return, but only to a reduced number of councillors; and the news of royalty and leaders of powerful countries queuing up to come over to Ireland for a visit, with both Queen Elizabeth and President Barack Obama throwing their names into the pot. So much to take in.
Read more ...Pressure-cooker performance brings out the hero in Enda
Fri, Jun 18, 2010
It was a close call but Enda came out victorious in the end. Our man is back in the hot seat, and by ‘our man’ I mean yours and mine, all of the citizens of Mayo — and not just those aligned to Fine Gael. Because when you scratch your head and think about it for a bit, having the leader of the main opposition party resident in and native of our home county packs a major punch politically, particularly as he now lies poised more than ever to assume the role of taoiseach-in-waiting. How can the people not row in behind the man? The reward will surely be largesse and investment and growth for the county that has literally been frozen in time after the boom/bust mess-up.
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