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The sun was shining on the streets of Westport on Tuesday evening, when the Mayo Advertiser met up with one of the new faces trying to make her mark on the door steps and get a seat on Mayo County Council for the first time. Joan Geraghty is well known to the readers of this paper, having worked here as the acting editor of the paper in recent years and previously worked as a journalist for a number of years in The Mayo News. Her experience in seeing how the council works at close quarters over those years is one of the reasons that she decided to put herself forward for election for the first time.

For some time now there have been complaints that Irish people are stockpiling too much money away in savings instead of spending and keeping the economy ticking over. Some ten years ago the story was an entirely different one when the government of the day introduced an unbeatable SSIA savings scheme, offering €1 on every €4 euro saved, up to a maximum contribution of €50 per month on every €250 saved. Despite demands for this 'free money' to be stopped by some public figures who wanted it siphoned off in the direction of social welfare, the scheme ran for five years, generating an attractive €20,000+ lump sum for those fortunates who could avail of the maximum top-up.

Dividends anticipated from ongoing intense investment by our government in attracting further tourism business to Ireland, may serve little purpose if there is nothing to keep people here when they come. While beautiful scenery and glorious outdoors have much to offer in their own right, without open doors in shops, pubs, restaurants and hotels to welcome those weary and seeking comfort following excursions, the allure of holidaying in Ireland may soon be lost.

Competition can be good; competition can be healthy; however, in the instance this week of one new music festival cancelling out a more established music festival – this result is not a good one.

As this week marked the beginning of Lent and the pre-Easter season of doing without, many were wondering what more could they do without; what is there left to give up?

Whether or not the controversial report this week about the Polish woman 'Magda' living the high life courtesy of the generous Irish social welfare system was entirely accurate or not matters little; what matters a lot however is that, just as with the 'mad and greedy' economy-crashing Irish people that our Taoiseach so readily informed the World Economic Forum about last week, much of the report contents were actually true.

Not before time we are finally starting to think outside the box. This week a bunch of business people have come together and committed to generate work for people, by pledging jobs online. The initiative, entitled Hireland, is not designed to provide an alternative state employment agency for all and sundry, but rather is directly targeting Ireland’s skilled unemployed with a view to returning them to quality jobs.

What a boost Allergan gave the county when it announced on Monday morning the creation of 200 jobs, 250 construction jobs, and an investment of $350 million in the Westport company.

A new year begins and with it comes a series of mixed messages that serve to confuse rather than fortify resolve. Appeals by charities abroad for funding against famine and war reveal that while austerity may now be hitting home, these current dark times fail to compare against emergency situations where basic human needs such as food and shelter are not being met.

As we bid farewell this week to 2011 and welcome in the New Year of 2012, no doubt many of us wonder – as we always do around this time – where on earth did the last year go?